


Cake Eater

by TayTay4936



Category: Mighty Ducks (Movies)
Genre: Family, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-30
Updated: 2016-02-28
Packaged: 2018-04-12 01:13:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 22
Words: 26,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4459595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TayTay4936/pseuds/TayTay4936
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>How an insult transformed to a term of endearment. The love story between Jesse Hall and Adam Banks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm in the process of adding my stories from ffn to ao3. I hope any of you who have not read them enjoy. Please review and let me know what you think!

Years later, while looking back on his childhood and realizing how things that happened when he was so young led to the rest of his life, he would come to the conclusion that it all started when Adam was still on the Hawks. When he would go around with his teammates and harass him and the other Ducks...or members of District 5 as they were originally known.

Even then, his feelings towards the Banks kid were conflicting...and intense. He hated Adam Banks. Hated him. And why wouldn't he? He was a rich, spoiled bully. But at the same time, he couldn't help noticing the color of his eyes or the smoothness of his skin.

He would lay awake at night furious at himself. His first crush just  _had_ to be on his worst enemy.


	2. The Poor Life of a Rich Boy

Adam Banks hated his life. And then he hated himself for hating his life. He knew he had things and could do things most other kids dreamed of.

Kids like Jesse Hall.

But still, Adam Banks hated his life. His life consisted entirely of making other people happy, of living up to expectations. He liked hockey, and he was good at it, but it was his father who had demanded that he play...and not only that he play, but that he played for the Hawks, continuing the Banks family tradition.

He had to satisfy his father, his coach, and his teammates, doing whatever they told him to whenever they asked. Like picking on the members of District 5.

Adam was a sensitive kid. His father had always tried to get him to "harden up", even though it was this aggressive attitude of his father's that often made him feel more vulnerable and long even more for affection and kindness.

So when he realized that being a part of the Hawks meant harassing District 5, Adam went along with it, but he hated himself for it. He wanted so badly to fit in with his teammates, but he couldn't stand what he was doing. District 5 was known to have the poorest kids in Minnesota. Almost all of them had only one parent and Adam didn't think any of them lived in houses. They all lived in apartment complexes in neighborhoods people he knew wouldn't find themselves caught dead in. Adam, on the other hand, was from Edina. He lived with both his parents and his brother in a spacious house in suburbia. Picking on these kids just felt cruel. Plus, between his father, his coach, and his teammates, Adam knew how it felt to be ridiculed. It disgusted him that he was doing the same thing to someone else.

And as if all of that wasn't bad enough...let's just throw in a crush on a member of District 5. A male member. A male black member.

His father would love that.

But Adam couldn't help it. Between the dark brown eyes, the strong attitude, and a smile he secretly died for, Adam had it bad for Jesse Hall.

Jesse Hall. The unofficial leader of District 5. The team he was forced to degrade at every opportunity.

Yeah. His life sucked.


	3. The New Coach

It may have all started before Coach Bombay arrived, but everything changed the day he did.

It's funny. Even now, years later, a grown man, Jesse still always referred to him as 'Coach Bombay' or 'Coach'. He knew the rest of the Ducks did too.

He remembers clearly the day he arrived, his sleek black limousine gliding onto the frozen lake. Jesse had always been the unofficial leader of the team. It wasn't that he thought he was better than any of his teammates; it was just that he wanted to protect them. He felt it was his duty. It probably stemmed from having to take care of his brother ever since their mom's death.

There may have been practically no age age difference between them, but Jesse was definitely the 'older brother', and with their dad having to work long hours to support them by himself, it was often Jesse who had to take care of Terry.

So, when this cake-eating white guy pulled up in his limo, Jesse took the lead. At first, he thought he was there to sell them some drugs. His whole life, Jesse had seen drugs and how they affected people in his community. He knew there were two types of drug dealers. The poor regular guys who were just trying to make a living, even though it was at the expense of their "customers", and the  _other_ dealers. The rich beyond imagination white guys who just wanted  _more_ money and  _more_ power.

He still remembers Peter's voice in his ear.

_You don't know what you're doin'._

But he didn't care. He was gonna make sure this guy never came near them again. Even when they thought he had a gun, he had put his arms out to protect his teammates. That was just who he was.

Then they found out this guy was the new coach.

* * *

He still remembers that first game. Before Coach Bombay had really started  _coaching_ them.

_Of course_ it had to be against the Hawks. Jesse had to face Adam head on. The harassment from the other Hawks players actually helped him, though. Between the racist comments and the guy who knocked his helmet off, he was able to focus all his energy on being pissed off, so he didn't even have time to think about Adam.

By the time the game was over, everyone was in a bad mood. When Bombay was done screaming at them, Jesse had had it. This guy who didn't do anything to coach them and who didn't give a crap about them at all wanted them to follow his advice? Jesse thought not. He headed to the locker room and got changed, more pissed off than ever. He was mad at the new coach, he was mad at the Hawks, and now that he had more time to think, he was once again mad at himself for crushing on a  _Hawk_.

* * *

It was a few days later when someone got the idea to look for old thrown out porn mags. Jesse had to roll his eyes at the thought, but he went along with it anyway. He flipped through a few pages, not really looking at anything.

It wasn't long before a few Hawks showed up. Of course one was Adam. They threw Karp into a pile of trash before Fulton Reed, who Jesse at the time didn't know very well, got rid of them.

It took a while, but eventually Coach Bombay came around. When he took the team to the store that first time, Jesse thought his eyes would pop out of his head. He had never had real hockey stuff in his life. It was like he had won the lottery.

They began to practice more and eventually they gained skills. Jesse's natural leadership abilities, combined with his newfound hockey skills made him one hell of a player. Soon, Tammy and Tommy Duncan were added to the team, but that was more Terry's story than Jesse's.

Then Fulton was added. Jesse still laughed when he thought about the time the team went to the mall to teach Fulton how to skate.

Then they became the Ducks. It felt good to be part of a real team...with a name. It felt like they were important, that they belonged to something. Their next game was when Jesse scored his first goal. God, that felt good. Everything was looking up until he, Terry, and Peter overheard Bombay talking about them to the Hawks' coach.

And if that wasn't bad enough, a few minutes later, Bombay walked in the locker room saying they had a new player.

Adam Banks.

Jesse felt like he was going to die.


	4. New Team, New Number, New Worries

Adam would never forget that day everything changed.

He had been going on with his life as usual, picking on the members of District 5, practicing at all hours to improve his skills in order to make his father proud, and lying awake at night thinking about Jesse Hall.

The Hawks were warming up for a game when the coach for District 5...or the Ducks as they were now known and some man Adam didn't know showed up. When Coach Riley called him over, Adam's heart began to beat rapidly. When they told him he was playing for the wrong team and should instead be playing for District 5, Adam couldn't believe it. This couldn't be happening. Two thoughts raced through his head.

One, his father demanded that he uphold the Banks family tradition by playing for the Hawks. There was Hawk memorabilia all over his house. He knew that if he couldn't be on the Hawks anymore, his father would be furious.

Two, if he were on the Ducks, he'd be on the same team as Jesse Hall, and he just couldn't do that. It was hard enough dealing with his emotions when the only contact they had was when their teams faced each other and when they would run into each other with their respective teammates and he was forced to degrade Jesse, even though it killed him. But being on the same team? Being that close to him everyday? Not to mention knowing that Jesse probably hated him for all he'd done to him and the rest of the Ducks.

His father's voice brought Adam out of his thoughts.

_My son would rather not play than play for your team._

Adam couldn't believe his ears. His father hadn't meant that, had he? He knew he had to play. He loved hockey, and he wasn't ready to give that up yet. But the main reason he knew he had to play was because of his father. Hockey was the only thing he and his dad had in common. His abilities were the only reason his father was proud of him. He knew that if he didn't play hockey, his father would care even less about him than he already did.

No. He had to play. He'd be a Duck.

He just prayed he wouldn't pass out the first time Jesse Hall confronted him.

* * *

He remembers that first meeting in the locker room as clearly today, years later, as he did the day it happened.

He walked in, his Hawks bag slung over his shoulder because it was the only bag he had for his hockey stuff, and all conversation stopped. The first one he saw was Jesse.  _Of course it was,_ he thought to himself. He cast his eyes to the ground, his heart beating nervously against his chest.

One of them took a step to welcome him, but was stopped by Jesse.

_Cake-eater._

He said it with such disdain Adam felt about an inch tall. One by one, the Ducks followed Jesse out of the room, the one who had originally tried to welcome him the last to go. He remembered him from purposefully knocking him down during a previous game. He would later learn his name was Charlie Conway and he would eventually become Adam's closest friend, aside from Jesse, of course.

* * *

He had noticed his new jersey when he had first entered the locker room. He remembered when he first heard that District 5 had become the Ducks. His father was talking about how ridiculous of a name that was and that it didn't change anything about them. Adam had remained silent, but inside he was happy. He hoped this had meant that District 5 would get some of the respect and support they deserved.

He saw that his number had been changed from 9 to 99. He wondered why that had happened until he saw that  _Jesse_ was number 9. As he was changing by himself, he almost laughed to himself. It almost seemed like destiny that they had had the same number on rival teams and now he was forced to change his...either destiny or simply fate laughing at him.

It would be years before it dawned on him that Coach Bombay had been number 9 on the Hawks too. Maybe it was destiny afterall.

* * *

At the start of the game, all of the Ducks were still hostile towards him, but after he scored a goal, it seemed to have lifted it all from them. From that game on, the Ducks all eventually warmed up to him.

All of them except Jesse.

It was killing Adam that of all of them, it was him who still wouldn't let his grudge go.

And then the phone calls started.

Almost every night, Adam would receive calls from members of the Hawks, threatening him. When Coach Bombay surprised them with a trip to a North Stars game, he saw two of the Hawks making signs at him and did his best to hide his face. It didn't help much that Jesse was watching him the whole time.

When the Ducks made the finals, Adam was both excited and nervous. He knew they'd have to face the Hawks.

As they stood in line for the national anthem, Adam cast glances at his former teammates, the anxiety building in his stomach. He could also feel Jesse's eyes on him, directly behind him.

He felt like he was going to have a heart attack. From the stress of dealing with the Hawks and Jesse having such animosity towards him or simply from being in such close proximity to the one he had been thinking about non-stop, he didn't know.


	5. One Giant Step Forward

_Don't forget what side you're on._

He didn't want to say that. Really, he didn't, but at the time, he felt that despite his growing feelings for Adam, he still couldn't quite trust him yet. Especially in a game against the Hawks.

It wasn't until he saw Adam get pushed into the post that he realized that he had really been wrong. About everything. He felt horrible for not trusting Adam and seeing that he had changed, and he felt livid that he had been hurt.

When they put Adam on the stretcher, Jesse made sure he was right there, the closest one to him.

It warmed him inside that even though there were other people surrounding him, it was only him that Adam addressed, only him who he talked to, only his eyes he stared into. When Adam asked him to "kick some Hawk butt", Jesse had to laugh. It just sounded so funny to hear something like that coming from such a "prim and proper"-looking kid.

This time, when he called him a cake-eater, he said it with affection and a smirk. Any remaining animosity was gone and all that was left were those secret emotions. The ones he was just now letting rise to the surface.

The rest of that game, he played harder than he had ever played before. When Charlie scored the winning shot, Jesse, like everyone else, was elated. They had finally proven themselves. A bunch of struggling kids no one ever thought would get anywhere made a name for themselves. Jesse was even happier than everyone else, though, because he had kept his promise to Adam. He couldn't wait until he could tell him the news.

* * *

Adam was happy he only had to stay in the hospital overnight. When he left early the next day, he couldn't wait to find out what happened with the game. His mom, however, had other plans, and demanded he rest.

So, he was lying in his bed, bored out of his mind, when there was a knock on his bedroom door. He had expected it to be his mom asking  _again_ if he needed anything, or maybe if he was lucky, Coach Bombay to tell him how the game went.

The last person he expected was Jesse Hall.

For a second, he thought he was hallucinating, or dreaming, but when he heard "Hey, cake-eater," he knew he was awake and that this was real. He tried to contain his excitement, but still let a huge grin escape, nearly splitting his face.

"Hey."

He could have slapped himself for such a lame response, his voice barely managing to come out in his surprise and nervousness.

"I just wanted to come by and check on you, see how you were doin'. Your mom said you were up here resting...so if you're not up to it, I can come back..."

Adam nearly pulled a muscle as he shot up in the bed.

"No!" he exclaimed, reaching out an arm.

"I'm glad you're here. Thanks...It really means a lot." In truth, none of the other Ducks had been by to see him; he wasn't upset about that...he had just been released  _that day;_  and the fact that it was Jesse who showed up made such a difference for him.

The small smile Jesse gave in response would have caused Adam to faint right there if he hadn't already been in bed. Once he was able to somewhat control himself, he asked about the game. He was ecstatic to hear they won and relaxed against his pillow. That seemed to break an invisible wall for them. They both easily fell into a comfortable camaraderie, talking about everything and nothing.

It was when Jesse was in the middle of talking about how he grew up when Adam couldn't take it anymore. Hearing everything Jesse had had to go through already and seeing how compassionate and kind he really was, he just had to let his feelings out.

With no further thought, he leaned over and kissed Jesse on the lips.


	6. New Titles

The kiss lasted a few seconds, a few seconds Adam was in heaven, before he pulled back and immediately cast his eyes to the bed, not nearly brave enough to look Jesse in the eye.

"What was that?"

Jesse had been staring at Adam in shock for a good while before he remembered how to form words.

Adam stumbled over his words nervously, certain he had just ruined the new friendship he had just achieved with Jesse.

"I...I...I'm sorry! I don't know what I was thinking. It will never happen again. I'm so sorry...I can't belie..."

His rambling was interrupted by Jesse's lips being pressed against his.

Adam's eyes widened in shock but quickly closed again as he simply let himself enjoy the kiss.

This time, when they pulled back, they were both grinning. It was again Jesse who spoke first.

"I had no idea..." "Me neither," Adam responded quietly.

"I...I know I haven't exactly been the nicest person in the world to you since you joined the Ducks, but that was just because I didn't want to see any of my teammates get hurt...and...mostly...because I've had these feelings for you for so long...and they've just gotten stronger and stronger...even though I didn't want them to." Jesse let out a deep sigh before he continued. "I guess what I'm trying to say is that...I like you. I really like you, Adam."

In that moment, Adam had to admire Jesse. He could tell Jesse was nervous, probably not nearly as nervous as he was, but still nervous, but he said everything with a seriousness and conviction that amazed Adam. He was starting to believe Jesse was this passionate about everything that was important to him.

"I like you, too. I have for a long time. From even when I was on the Hawks. That was one of the reasons I hated when we would pick on you guys. You have to know that I hated that, Jesse. I hated myself for it. We had no reason to be mean to you guys and yet we did whatever we wanted. And when it was  _you_ that we picked on, it killed me. I felt sick to my stomach...because I already liked you so much."

Jesse looked surprised at first. He couldn't believe Adam had liked him even back when he was on the Hawks; but then a soft smile formed on his face.

"I believe you. I guess we both did things we regret, but it's in the past now. We're all good. We can just start from here. So, does this make us...boyfriends?"

"Yeah. Boyfriends works for me. So...what do we do now?"

Jesse smiled and leaned in to kiss Adam again.

* * *

They spent the next hour kissing and talking, just relaxing as they both reveled in the new direction their relationship had taken. They had decided that for now they wouldn't tell anybody. They wanted to keep it to themselves for a while. When he felt comfortable enough, Jesse would tell his dad first. He knew his dad would understand. They'd wait to tell Adam's parents, though. Adam was ashamed to say that he knew his father wouldn't react well. He rushed to assure Jesse that even though he was going to wait to tell his parents, he wasn't ashamed of or embarrassed by him. Jesse again surprised him, though. He understood and was more than willing to wait to let Adam's family know.

Eventually Adam's mom came back up, telling him that Jesse had to leave because he needed his rest. Adam rolled his eyes but relented. As they said their goodbyes and Jesse left the room, they both knew they had never been so happy.

* * *

They spent the following weeks seeing as much of each other as possible. Jesse visited Adam every day until he was able to leave the house. Once he was, they would meet up at parks or by the lake and just relax by themselves, talking, kissing, just spending time together. They would have loved to play hockey one-on-one, but Adam's doctor...and his mother...weren't quite confident enough to trust him on a pair of skates yet.

When they heard that Coach Bombay was going to tryout for minor-league hockey, they were surprised, but happy for him. When the team all showed up to send him off, Jesse and Adam arrived together and stood side-by-side. When Adam called Coach a cake-eater, Jesse let out a face-splitting grin and laughed to himself.

He had rubbed off on Adam more than he thought.


	7. New Adventures

They kept up their "routine" of sorts, seeing each other privately after school and on weekends. They saw each other in the halls at school, but they didn't have any classes together. Adam was in the "advanced" classes while Jesse and the rest of the Ducks were in the "regular" classes. This confused Adam because though he was smart, he wasn't nearly as smart as he was assumed to be, and Jesse was a lot smarter than people thought he was. In fact, sometimes their time together on weekends consisted mostly of Jesse helping Adam prepare for a big test or project.

Once school let out, they unfortunately saw less of each other. Without the pretense of a school assignment, Adam didn't really have any good excuses to have Jesse come over, or to even get out of the house. He spent most of the beginning of summer vacation alone, thinking about Jesse and practicing his hockey, the one activity his father approved of.

This was what he was doing, in fact, when he heard that "duck call". He turned around, a smile growing on his face when he spotted Jesse, standing there with Charlie, Connie, Guy, Averman, and Goldberg.

* * *

Jesse had spent the beginning of his summer break just trying to distract himself. He couldn't see Adam and it was driving him insane. The only way he figured he could somewhat deal with it was by playing street hockey. He would play pretty much every day with kids from around the neighborhood. Sometimes other Ducks would play too; Charlie would be there a lot when he wasn't working at the store; Averman and Peter would be there pretty often, too. But it was Jesse who was there every day, pushing to make himself better.

When he heard the "duck call", Jesse knew immediately what it was. He turned around to see Charlie standing on the other side of the fence saying that the Ducks were back. They went off together to round up the Ducks that would be able to play in the Junior Goodwill Games.

Tammy and Tommy's mother wouldn't let them go because she wanted them to focus more on figure skating. Terry, who had just started dating Tammy a couple months before school let out, decided to stay behind so he could spend time with her. Karp and Peter were both stuck in summer school, so they were forbidden from going. They picked up Averman, Connie, Guy, and Goldberg before making their final stop. Jesse couldn't stop smiling as they got closer and closer to Adam's house.

When they finally got there, he saw Adam practicing outside. He couldn't control his smile and his laughter as he saw Adam in his typical polo, practicing with a fake goalie. He just looked so... _preppy_. He may have made fun of it in the past...and he still did...but Adam's clothes had become endearing to him, even though he still teased him about them to no end.

He couldn't keep his next words from slipping from his mouth.

_Hey, cake-eater, you want to play some real hockey?_

* * *

Adam couldn't control the grin that broke out when Jesse called him  _cake-eater_. It had grown to be a term of endearment that Adam would use to jokingly make fun of someone like Coach Bombay and that Jesse continued to use for him. It was a completely affectionate term now. Instead of cliché names like "baby", Jesse would call Adam "cake-eater".

As they set off to meet with Coach, Adam and Jesse stayed as close together as possible, ecstatic that they were able to see each other again, but still trying to not give anything away to their teammates.

They eventually met who were to become their new teammates. Although they both, like the rest of the original Ducks, were hesitant, they all eventually got along pretty well.

When they got to California, they were both pretty amazed. Yeah, Adam was richer and his father had done a lot of traveling over the years, but Adam himself had never been out of Minnesota before. Neither had Jesse. They both looked around at their surroundings with child-like eyes.

They both thanked whatever higher power there was when it came to room assignments. They ended up roommates in a room for two in the dorms they were assigned to. After they had put down their stuff in their room, they immediately closed the door and pulled each other into a fierce hug.

"I missed you," Adam whispered in Jesse's ear, reminding himself how  _good_ the scent that was purely "Jesse Hall" was.

Jesse's reply of "I missed you too, cake-eater," was met with a wide grin from Adam. Their mouths came together for a deep kiss as they just let themselves get reacquainted with each other. They collapsed onto one of the beds, their kiss never breaking, and spent a few moments simply content.

* * *

Once the games started, Adam began to get worried, which, of course, Jesse noticed. He would spend each night telling Adam to not worry about the scouts or what his father expected, which he knew was the real reason behind Adam's obsession with the observing scouts. Though Adam didn't want to worry, it was just so difficult.

The only thing that would calm him would be Jesse holding him as he listened to Jesse's soothing voice tell him of all his dreams for the future, dreams he didn't think he would ever accomplish but he still liked to think about. Playing in the NHL. Opening a community center. A place where people could go to get help if they had a drug problem, kids could go if they had any kind of personal issue, and a place where people could relax and find out who they were.

It was this dream that would stick in Adam's brain for years to come.

Even with the luring hostility from the team from Iceland, everything was going well. They were winning and having fun. One event that still sticks out in Jesse's mind is the day he decided to go explore with Goldberg, Averman, and Dwayne. Adam had been on the phone with his dad that morning and was exhausted afterward. Jesse offered to stay with him, but he insisted Jesse go have fun and that he just needed to sleep and that he'd feel better when he woke up.

It  _was_ pretty fun. None of them had ever been around such "high-end" stores and people. They played a few pranks before Goldberg got the brilliant idea to pose as Aaron Spelling's nephew.

When the models came out, Dwayne, Goldberg, and Averman all had similar looks on their faces. They were in complete shock, spurred by hormonal overdrive. Jesse, however, couldn't help looking at the women and thinking 'Okay...and...?' And he couldn't keep his thoughts from showing on his face. When he came back and told Adam, who was by then in a much better mood, about it, they laughed together and curled up on one of the beds.

Everything was going fine until the game against Iceland.

Coach hadn't been spending too much time preparing for the game, so the team was completely unprepared for the powerhouse force they faced.

When he gave his speech during one of their breaks, Adam and Jesse on either side of him, Adam couldn't keep his eyes off of Jesse. Jesse may be one to speak before thinking most of the time, but he was also always the voice of reason. When he told the coach that they were doing their best and Bombay stared right at him and more or less told the team, but Jesse in particular, that they, meaning he, wasn't good enough, Adam was angry. He was pissed.

Listening to someone who hadn't been doing their job at all demean someone he not only cared deeply about, but someone who worked harder and had had to deal with more struggles than anyone he knew, he wanted to snap back at Bombay and defend Jesse, but at the time he was still mostly timid, and still felt he needed his father's approval, and the only way he knew he would accomplish that would be to play and win, and he figured if he pissed off Coach Bombay any more than he already was, he wouldn't be able to do either.

When they went back out, he was determined to score a goal. He pushed himself harder and harder and finally, he scored.

But the stick slamming down onto his wrist brought him out of his euphoric daze.

* * *

When he saw that stick come down onto Adam's hand, Jesse was absolutely livid...and worried. He wanted to tear into Olaf Sanderson and at the same time race over to Adam to see if he was okay. When everyone else on the ice left Adam after he assured them he was okay, Jesse's eyes were still on Adam, so he was the only one who saw him gingerly take his hand out of his glove.

He waited until after their forced after-game practice to say anything to Adam. They both returned to their room exhausted. Adam immediately collapsed onto his bed, but Jesse slowly walked over and stood above Adam.

"How's your wrist?"

Adam's eyes popped open and a look of panic crossed his face.

"It's fine! It was nothing." He should have known better. This was  _Jesse_. Jesse, who seemed to know everything about him, who could tell when he was upset, or scared, when he needed space and when he needed comforting...and when he was lying.

Like right now.

"Adam."

Just hearing his voice say his name in that tone made Adam feel guilty for even trying to lie to Jesse.

With a deep breath, he finally came clean.

"It hurts. It hurts really bad. It's hard for me to even turn it."

Jesse's concern showed on his face.

"You need to tell Coach. You need to get it looked at."

The response he got was not the one he would have preferred, but it was the one he expected.

"No! I can't! He'll bench me, and I gotta play!"

Jesse sighed. He still had to work on Adam's obsessive need to have his father's approval.

"And you can't tell him either.  _Please_ , Jesse. If it gets too unbearable, I'll say something, but for right now can you just keep this between us? Please?"

Going against his better judgement, Jesse agreed. Adam gave a relieved sigh and pulled Jesse onto his bed with him. They laid on their sides, facing the same direction, Jesse behind Adam, holding him in a comforting embrace, and they both drifted off to sleep.

* * *

When Miss MacKay said they had the day off, all the Ducks sighed and nearly collapsed with relief. They all went back to their respective rooms to rest. Jesse convinced Adam to let him look at his wrist, worried when there didn't seem to be any improvement.


	8. Going Home

It was the day before their next game and they were all working out outside. When Adam "defended" Julie so-to-speak when Portman called her "babe", Jesse had to say he both was and wasn't surprised. That was definitely an "Adam" thing to  _think_ , he always wanted to defend people when they were being disrespected or taken advantage of, but Adam was always too timid to ever voice his opinions. Jesse figured it was the anger they all were feeling that was making them so high-strung that caused Adam to actually say something.

This tension was also probably what led the the resultant fight that broke out.

Before long, though, the guy who had been haunting them, particularly Jesse, showed up again, challenging them to a game of street hockey. Jesse, being who he was, spoke up against him and they all eventually went down to South Central and played a game.

When Jesse blurted out that the guy stalking them "had a big mouth", it seemed every member of the team was scared he had finally done it; that something bad was going to happen.

Though Adam slightly felt this fear, his mood had finally been brightened.  _This_ was Jesse.

The game revitalized them, reminding them of a few things they seemed to have temporarily forgotten.

They were all brought back to reality, however, when that night at their game, Coach didn't show up.

Luckily, Charlie, being the true captain he was, got the idea to have Miss MacKay pose as their coach, and thankfully he was able to convince her.

When Bombay finally  _did_ show up, Jesse, still feeling resentful, tried to ignore him and carry on the game. Coach was able to get them all to come in, though, and after he apologized, they were all heading in the right direction, training again and analyzing their opponents.

The only problem left was Adam's wrist.

* * *

When Adam came back to his and Jesse's room after his talk with Coach and getting his wrist x-rayed, he was still upset. He couldn't bring himself to tell Coach that the reason his stomach was in knots and he was so determined to play wasn't like his had been. It wasn't that his dad worked so hard that it was a big deal when he could make it to a game. It was that playing and winning were what his dad _demanded_ of him. It was what was  _expected_.

Jesse, of course, knew all this from all the talks they had, so when Adam told him that Coach was benching him, he pulled him into a hug and told him that it was okay, that this way his wrist would heal.

Secure in Jesse's arms, Adam at last let himself relax.

He believed him.

Jesse started with his research the next day.

* * *

Making up a lie that he was going to help Goldberg practice defending, Jesse headed down to the library and looked up all he could find on ways to speed healing of wrist injuries similar to Adam's. He came back to their room and confessed to Adam where he had been.

Adam knew that he shouldn't have been surprised, but he was still amazed that Jesse cared about him so much.

Apparently, there were exercises they could do to help strengthen his wrist and speed the process along. They began doing the exercises every night before they went to sleep.

* * *

With Adam still technically out, however, Charlie got the idea to bring in Russ Tyler, the one who had been stalking them since they had arrived in California. They had gotten to deal with and kind of like each other when they had played that game of street hockey, but Jesse still had to laugh at the irony of Charlie, his best friend since they were in preschool, bringing in the guy who had been annoying the hell out of him lately.

* * *

It was finally the day of the big game. When Adam woke up that morning, he immediately noticed a lack of pain in his wrist. Not wanting to wake Jesse, he ran out to the communal bathrooms and rotated his wrist, his eyes widening as he felt no pain. He ran back to his and Jesse's room, a huge grin splitting his face, but then quietly slipped back into bed, deciding that he'd rather surprise Jesse later.

Jesse felt the movement, though, and groggily asked what was going on.

"Nothing. Go back to sleep," Adam responded quietly, trying to keep his excitement hidden.

"Is your wrist okay?" Jesse asked, worried it may have gotten worse.

Adam, loving yet even more proof of how caring Jesse was by nature, couldn't keep the smile from his face this time.

"Yes. It's fine."

* * *

That night, he walked into the locker room, eager to show the team his vast improvement.

When he showed Coach, Jesse was ecstatic. All those nights of working with his wrist had paid off. But when Coach told Adam that they had a full roster, Jesse immediately turned to Russ, refusing to let Adam sit their final game out after how hard he had worked and knowing how much he wanted to play.

But when Charlie gave up his spot, Jesse had to smile. He knew he and Charlie were best friends for a reason.

Then the game started and although they were still getting kicked around by Iceland pretty hard, it wasn't nearly as bad as their first game against them had been. When the coach called for him, Guy , and Russ, Jesse had a fleeting thought about his brother. He wished he could be there. The original "Oreo line".

When Coach called Adam to the ice, Jesse was worried, but he knew Adam had worked hard so he could play; he'd just make sure he'd protect Adam at every opportunity.

So when he saw Adam get hit again, he was pissed at himself for not being able to do anything in time.

After Adam came to the bench and everyone stopped talking to him, Jesse simply looked over at him.

As if feeling his eyes on him, Adam turned toward Jesse and it was then that Jesse could see it in his eyes. Adam really  _was_ okay.

* * *

After Coach Bombay gave the team a talk and they put on their new uniforms, they all felt rejuvenated.

Jesse and Adam both felt good to be Ducks again, especially Jesse, and Adam knew it. He could see it on his face.

They were able to tie the game up, which led to a shootout.

Jesse was the first up. When he made his shot, Adam was beyond proud. He did have to chuckle to himself, though. Jesse made it look  _easy_.

When it was time for Adam to take his shot, he hesitantly tested his wrist. He couldn't feel any pain, but he was still worried. He looked over to the bench and saw everyone giving him encouraging, reassuring looks, but it was Jesse who he focused on. The look in his eyes said, "We worked on this. Don't worry. You got this."

Finally feeling like he was ready, Adam nodded to himself and took a final breath before starting. When he made his shot, one emotion ran through him.

Relief.

When they won, they gave the flag to Adam to wave in victory, but he passed it on to Charlie as a thank-you for giving up his spot on the team for him.

* * *

They all traveled back to Minnesota together, where they would stay for one more night of celebrating before the new Ducks would return to their various hometowns. As they packed up their dorm room, both Jesse and Adam were sad to leave, only because they wouldn't be able to spend each night together anymore. As Jesse zipped up his bag, he watched Adam, who was still getting his stuff together. Once he was done, he turned around and they stared at each other silently.

Letting out matching reluctant breaths, they walked towards each other and met in a tight hug.

"This is gonna suck."

Jesse had to laugh. He loved when Adam used words that weren't necessarily bad, but weren't expected of "his kind".

"I know," he responded. "But we'll work it out. We will. I promise."

"I know. I just...I mean...I've gotten  _used_ to falling asleep with you every night."

"I know. Me too. Don't worry. We'll figure something out."

"Okay," Adam finally relented. He pulled back and placed his lips firmly against Jesse's, who eagerly returned the kiss, swiping his tongue across Adam's bottom lip, which eagerly opened in acceptance.

When they at last broke apart, Jesse looked up with glazed eyes and took a breath in an attempt to calm himself down.

"Okay. Let's go."

They both grabbed their stuff and headed out, away from California and their self-made haven.

* * *

When they got back to Minnesota, Jesse was happy to see his father and his brother, both of whom he had missed greatly. They both told him how proud they were and how well he did.

Adam's father told him he was proud of him and that he played great. His brother told him he did well and then left, while his mother fussed over his injury, though Adam suspected this had more to do with her needing to do things mothers were "supposed to do" and less with her really worrying about his well-being.

That night, as they sat around the campfire, celebrating their victory, Adam and Jesse sat side-by-side, as close as possible, and enjoyed what they knew would be that last time they would have easy access to each other for a while.


	9. Employee, Dad, Secret Detective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't believe the name of Jesse and Terry's dad was ever given, so I decided to name him James.

The rest of summer vacation progressed much like the earlier part of it had. Adam stayed home practicing in front of his house and Jesse went out to practice in the neighborhood.

Only, they were both even  _more_  miserable.

After getting so much closer during their trip to California, not to mention being able to go to sleep together every night, they both were slammed with the reality of having to go back to how things were before.

Adam's parents didn't notice anything different about him; of course, that was most likely because they didn't pay much attention. Jesse's father, however, knew something was up. He saw how Jesse would still try to maintain the same attitude he always had, but when he thought no one was looking, he would slip back into feeling and looking so depressed it tore at his father's heart.

James wanted to say something to his son, but he wanted to wait until he had a better idea of exactly  _what_  was wrong. So, though it pained him to see his son hurting but not do anything, he continued on silently, watching Jesse extra carefully for any clue to what was going on inside of him.

It didn't take long for him to notice a few things.

He noticed that when Tammy would be over at the house, as she often would be, watching TV or simply hanging out with Terry, Jesse would cast them subtle glances, looks that James only caught because he had been watching Jesse so closely. Depending on what type of mood he was in, the look Jesse would give would range from sadness to anger to sometimes even a sad smile. James didn't understand this, but he knew it was probably important.

He also noticed other times that same sad smile would appear on his son's face.

Like the times he dragged Jesse out of the house in an attempt to not only cheer him up, but also to try to get at what was bothering him.

The smile came during the time he decided to take Jesse on a drive around the city, just the two of them. Terry and Tammy were out at a movie and James felt it was the perfect opportunity. Jesse seemed to appreciate the thought and they were both just relaxed in each other's company when they got to one of the nicer looking neighborhoods. Then that sad smile appeared and James had no idea what had brought it on.

The other time he really noticed it was when he had taken Jesse to the mall, thinking buying him some new music or something might cheer him up. The look came and left quickly, but James definitely caught it. It appeared as they were passing a clothing store. James looked over at it and only saw a display of polo shirts on mannequins in the window. He knew Jesse never dressed like that, so he didn't know what was going on.

James Hall was confused.

* * *

It came to him at the oddest of times.

He had been lying in bed one night, tossing and turning, when suddenly everything clicked in his mind's eye.

He remembered the times Adam Banks would come over and work on schoolwork with Jesse. He always wore clothes typical of a kid with a good amount of money.

He wore polo shirts a lot.

All the looks Jesse had been giving Terry and Tammy finally made sense. They all came from a common place.

Jealousy.

Jesse was at times happy for his brother and his girlfriend, but he was jealous, too.

If his suspicions were correct, Jesse had a thing for the Banks kid.

He decided to make sure to talk to Jesse in the morning. He wanted to talk to him right then, the high of possibly solving what had been driving him mad giving him newfound energy, but he was able to control himself. He knew that if he were to burst into the boys' room and tell Jesse they had to talk right then, he would probably scare both boys to death.

So, his new theory in place, secure until the morning, James finally settled down for the night, drifting off to a peaceful sleep.

* * *

He caught Jesse the next morning. He was almost out the door, on his way to go play hockey, when his father asked if they could talk for a minute. Terry, who had been watching TV, looked wearily between his father and his brother. He watched them enter their dad's bedroom and continued to stare worriedly at the closed door.

* * *

As Jesse followed his dad down the hall, he felt terrified, and he didn't know why. He hadn't done anything wrong, but his dad's voice had been so serious he still had a bad feeling.

Once they were inside the room, his dad asked him to sit down. This did nothing to soothe his nerves.

"Son, I know there's been something wrong lately. I've watched you walk around, acting like everything's normal, but I can tell it's not. You seem so depressed. I've been trying to avoid having this talk with you until I had a good idea what was wrong and last night I think it came to me. Now, if I'm wrong, tell me, but please, just let me know what's wrong so I can help."

Jesse immediately felt guilty for making his dad worry. He thought he had hidden his sadness well, but he should have known his dad would see it. His dad could always read him like an open book.

"Do you have a crush on Adam Banks?"

 _That_  he hadn't expected.

"I've seen the way you look at things that would probably remind you of him, the way you watch your brother and Tammy when they're together, and I remember how happy you were when Adam was here when you guys had to do your schoolwork. Now, if I'm right, there's nothing wrong with that, but I just want you to tell me."

Jesse was stunned. He had no idea how his dad had connected his recent mood to Adam, but he had. He figured he might as well come clean now. He felt bad for doing this without telling Adam first, but he really didn't have a choice. He'd talk to him about it later.

"Well, Dad, you see, it's not so much that I have a crush anymore...It's that we're dating."

* * *

Now  _that_   _he_  hadn't expected.

He had been ready for Jesse to confess that yes he had a crush on Adam Banks and he was having some trouble dealing with it...but they were already  _dating_? How had he missed that? And why was Jesse so depressed, then?

He listened as Jesse started from the beginning, from the days when the Ducks were District 5 and Adam was on the Hawks. Apparently a crush had begun then. Then they grew to really like each other and were dating by the day after the Ducks had won the Pee-wee State championships.

James got flashes of when Adam would be at their apartment, studying or hanging out with Jesse. He remembered them both being equally happy to be around each other. It wasn't because they both had crushes like he had thought; they were already dating by then. They were just happy to spend time together.

Then Jesse told him about their time in California; about how much closer they got and how he had helped Adam when he hurt his wrist. He told him how worried they both had been; Adam worried about his father and scouts and Jesse worried about Adam, both about his wrist problems and his obsession with getting his father's approval.

James had to smile when Jesse admitted that holding Adam at night in one of their beds was about the only thing that would calm him down. It was the same way for his wife when she was alive. Whenever she was scared or worried or stressed, he just had to hold her and she was calmed.

Once Jesse finished talking, he let out one long breath. He was obviously relieved, both that it was now out in the open and that he was done. They were both silent before a thought came to James.

"Jesse, how come Adam hasn't come by here since...well, since school let out?"

"His dad's really strict, as I'm sure you've seen. Without schoolwork as an excuse, he's basically stuck at his house."

"And that's why you've been depressed lately. You miss him."

With Jesse's silent nod, it seemed all the pieces had fallen into place for James, but that still left the problem of Jesse's depression. He couldn't bear to think of Jesse carrying on like he had been for the rest of the summer.

He'd start working on that today.

"So are you okay with this? You're not upset?"

His son's rarely timid voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"Of course I'm not upset, Son. I love you. I do wish you had told me  _sooner_ , but I guess I can forgive you," he finished with a smirk, making Jesse laugh.

"Thanks, Dad. I knew you'd be okay with this...I just didn't know how to tell you. Oh, but Dad?"

The sudden look of panic Jesse had completely caught James off guard.

"Don't mention this to anyone, okay? Especially Adam's family. We're not ready for a lot of people to know yet and he's worried about his parents' reaction. He doesn't think they'll react nearly as well as you did."

James eyed his son hesitantly, but he slowly nodded.

"Okay, Son, I won't say anything, but I don't know how I feel about you hiding who you are. You've always been so proud; it's one of the things I've always admired about you and I'd hate that some boy, no matter how you feel about him, was making you change that."

Jesse rushed to reassure his father.

"It's not that, Dad. Adam's proud of me; he is. It's just that when his father finds out, it'll probably have some serious consequences and we want to be prepared for that."

James relented, giving his son a nod.

"Okay, Son, I believe you. Now get out of here," he finished with a laugh and a playful shove.

"Okay, I'll be back later. Thanks again, Dad."

"Don't thank me, Jesse. This is what I'm supposed to do."

With that, Jesse left to go play hockey and James began to think.


	10. The National Junior Hockey Summit

Adam was in his room, lying on his bed, when his father came home. He had been practicing outside for most of the morning, but around 2:00, he decided to call it a day. He was just had no energy to put towards anything.

It was one of his worse days.

He missed Jesse every day he didn't get to see or even talk to him, but same days were worse than others.

On the decent days, he could focus all his effort on his practice, so even though he was upset it wasn't at the front of his mind; and when it did spring up in his head, he was able to use his emotions towards what he was working on.

Then there were days like these; days where he was so lonely and upset he couldn't even find the energy to practice.

He sluggishly made his way up to his room, his mother casting him a quick glance of surprise that he was coming in already, but nothing more, and collapsed onto his bed, staring at the ceiling.

This had to stop. He felt like a prisoner in his own house. Even if you took Jesse out of the equation, he still was pretty much stuck in this one place every day. He knew he'd eventually go crazy if something didn't change soon.

Today turned out to be his lucky day.

He heard the phone ring downstairs and glanced at the clock, surprised that he had been lying there for over four hours already.

When his dad called him downstairs, he didn't know what to expect.

* * *

As James left for work that morning, he continued thinking about a way to somehow reunite Jesse and Adam. He had to think of something that Adam's father would both buy and approve of.

By lunchtime that day, he had it all figured out.

After they got off work, he and his friend Jack went back to Jack's place. He and Jack had worked together for years and were pretty close, so he figured he was the best accomplice. Not to mention, being in the line of work he was, Jack knew how people like the Bankses looked down upon people like him. He may be white, but he had no more money than James. He could imagine how hard it must be for the boys with someone like Mr. Banks to worry about. After explaining the plan to him, Jack agreed, laughing as he shook his head in amusement.

"And you just thought of this  _today_? Wow. Yeah, I'll definitely do it. It'll be fun. Jesse should make you dinner for a month or somethin'."

James laughed, knowing just how happy his son would be.

* * *

James wrote out a script for Jack to read from once they arrived. He knew they had to make it sound as legitimate as possible. Once they had everything written, they dialed the number for the Banks residence, waiting for someone to pick up.

* * *

When he reached the kitchen, he looked around and spotted his father, sitting at the table.

"Sit down, Son."

His voice gave nothing away, causing Adam to become even more nervous.

"That was one of the directors of the National Junior Hockey Summit. He said that after watching you in the Junior Goodwill Games he feels you have major potential. He's invited you to the Summit, which, from what he told me, is a place where they take the best of the best of young talent and let them practice together, offering advice and lessons on improving your skills. He said that since it's a public organization and they want to encourage independence in young people, you would go to your school every day and someone, most likely one of the directors, would pick you up there. He said it would be held Monday through Friday from 7 am until the early evening. What do you think?"

Adam didn't quite know what to say. He was confused. Yeah, it sounded okay, and it got him out of the house, but someone drilling his hockey every day? And why would they have to pick him up from the school? He got the whole 'public organization' thing, so they were probably tied to the school system, but it still seemed odd. But, he figured it would please his father, even though he had been slowly but surely realizing that that just didn't matter. Nevertheless, he would be getting out of the house, so he agreed.

* * *

As Jack hung up the phone, he had a smug look on his face.

"So you think he bought it?"

"Oh yeah, he bought it," he replied with a chuckle.

James smiled in satisfaction. He was almost as excited as he knew the boys would be.

* * *

Once he got home that night, he pulled Jesse aside and asked if it was okay to let Terry know about him and Adam.

Figuring that since his father now knew, it would most likely be impossible to keep it from his brother for very long, Jesse decided it was okay.

He was surprised by his brother's reaction.

He had told Terry to sit on the couch while he stood in front of him, their father choosing to give the boys some privacy by going to his room. He didn't go into all the details he had when explaining to his father, but he told his brother the gist of everything. Though Terry was surprised that it was  _Adam Banks_  of all people his brother liked, he was happy for him. He loved his brother, and more than anything, he looked up to him. He knew from his still somewhat new relationship with Tammy that now Jesse would be happy. He hadn't been completely blind to his brother's moods lately.

Once they were done talking, they easily fell back into normalcy. They both sat on the couch, watching some old black and white horror movie neither of them knew the name of.

* * *

The weekend came and went without much excitement. Adam became nervous about the whole 'National Junior Hockey Summit' thing. He was contemplating faking sick, but he knew he'd still have to go the next day. He just wasn't looking forward to it.

His father dropped him off in the front of the school and he waited for a few minutes when a roughly familiar car pulled up. The door opened and a man walked toward him. He lifted his head and Adam could clearly see who it was.

"Hey, Adam."

"Mr. Hall?"

* * *

As he was getting ready that morning, the excitement was building in James. Not only was he anxious to see Jesse happy again, but he couldn't wait to be able to talk to Adam one-on-one, to be able to get his perspective on things.

As he pulled up in front of his sons' school, he saw Adam Banks sitting alone on a small ledge outside the front office.

As he approached, he saw the boy lift his head and a look of recognition mixed with confusion cross his face.

"Mr. Hall?"

"I've told you, Adam. Call me James."

"James. What are you doing here? What's going on?"

James sat beside Adam on the ledge before he spoke.

"I was going to find some subtle way to ease into this, but I'm just going to be honest with you. Jesse told me about the two of you."

Adam's eyes widened in both surprise and panic.

"He...He did," he barely stuttered out.

"Yes. Well, to be fair, he didn't fully voluntarily tell me, and he felt bad for telling me before talking to you about it first, but I had thought I had figured it out. See, I thought Jesse had a crush on you and I was going to talk to him about it, but when I asked him if he did, he told me that you two had already been dating for quite some time and then he went on to tell me everything about how you two started out as mutual crushes who eventually got together and about your trip to California."

Adam was too scared to look into James' eyes. He had always liked Jesse and Terry's dad; he was always so nice and helpful, but this was a time he was severely uncomfortable; he didn't know what he would see if he looked up at his face.

"And...are you upset?"

"I'm not and I am. I'm not upset at all that you two are dating. You both found someone you can trust and care about, and that's so rare in this world, I couldn't even dream of being against it. There is something that  _is_ bothering me, though. Do you know how I figured out that there was something Jesse was hiding from me?"

When Adam shook his head, James continued.

"He's been so depressed all summer, ever since you all got back from California. He still tried to act like nothing was wrong; he  _is_ Jesse, afterall."

At this, James smirked and Adam had to laugh. He understood all too well.

James sobered and continued.

"But I still could tell something was wrong. I hated to see my son hurting and I wanted to figure out what was causing it."

James paused for a moment and Adam had time to process everything. He felt both relieved and guilty that Jesse was feeling just as miserable as he was.

James watched Adam, seeing the emotions play across his face. Finally, he decided it was safe to ask.

"So, Adam, I have to ask you, and be completely honest with me, please. How have you been holding up? How has your summer been?"

For once in his life, the first thing that came to Adam Banks' mind was the first thing out of his mouth.

"Miserable. To be honest, I've been absolutely miserable. I miss Jesse like you wouldn't believe, and I'm stuck at my house all day, with my mother, who doesn't really even pay attention to how I'm feeling, and the only thing I'm allowed to do, pretty much, is practice hockey. And then my dad comes home and he doesn't really say anything to me unless he's giving me orders or asking how much I practiced that day. And then at night, it's hard for me to even sleep. While we were in California, I got so used to having Jesse there that I haven't been able to sleep normally since."

Once he was done venting, it seemed his brain finally processed his words. His eyes widened in horror. He had said too much, let too much out. He was just about to tell Mr. Hall...James...to just ignore what he had said and to just know that he missed Jesse, but, as if James could read his mind...or maybe his face...he beat him to it.

"No. Adam, I'm glad you were that honest with me. That's how you should be all the time. You can't keep stuff bottled up inside of you; it'll only cause you pain and drive you crazy. You need to let your emotions out from time to time."

Adam just stared in amazement. This was an adult who was telling him to let out how he felt, to be honest about what he was thinking. No one had ever encouraged him to do that before, especially not any sort of authority figure.

" _And_ , this just proves that I need to do what I had planned. Not just for Jesse, but for you too."

"Yeah, now that you mention it, what exactly are you doing here, James? What's going on?"

"Well, once I learned that the reason Jesse was so depressed was because he missed you, and after he told me that there's pretty much no way to get you out of your house, I came up with 'the National Junior Hockey Summit'. Your parents would think you were at the 'summit' during the day, but really you would be at our place, or wherever you boys decide to go. It would just be a good excuse for you two to see each other. So I got one of my friends from work to pose as a 'director' for the 'summit' and he called your father."

Adam couldn't believe it. He truly was speechless.

"You did that? For us?"

"Yeah," James said as if it were the most obvious thing to do in the world. "I couldn't stand to know you two were going to be miserable the rest of the summer when the problem could easily be fixed by you two simply being able to spend time together."

Deciding to take up James' advice about letting his emotions out, Adam reached out and hugged him in appreciation. "Thank you. Thank you so much."

James smiled and hugged the boy back.

"Don't thank me, Adam. This is what I'm supposed to do."

As they headed back to the Hall apartment, Adam couldn't keep the smile off his face.

Summer vacation was starting to look up afterall.


	11. Hey

On the car ride back to his home, James filled Adam in on a few things.

He told him that Jesse had also told Terry about them and that Terry had been more than fine with it.

Adam was happy to hear this. Once the Ducks had started warming up to him, he and Terry had gotten along very well.

He also told him that Jesse would most likely just be waking up. He would let Adam in and then he would have to go to work. He'd be back around 6:30.

As they got closer, the anticipation was building within Adam. Once they reached the building, he began to smile at the memories of the times he had spent here. As James opened the door and Adam stepped through, he couldn't help but think, again, how much he loved this place. It was so much smaller than his house, and yet,  _this place_ felt like a home. It was so warm and inviting...to him, anyway. His house never felt like that.

James told him to help himself to anything he wanted and to make himself at home as he grabbed everything he needed before heading out the door. Adam simply stood in the same spot for a few moments, taking in all the events of the morning, and realizing that he had ended up here. He turned his head in the direction of a sound and was met with the sight of someone barely awake, in a pair of pajama pants and a t-shirt, rubbing his eye sleepily.

Jesse.

Adam couldn't contain his smile. He'd missed that. While they were in California, he'd learned that Jesse was far from a morning person...but he had so much self-discipline that if he needed to get up for something, he would...though it usually took him a while to become "fully awake".

He watched in amusement as Jesse stumbled over to the refrigerator, eyes barely open, and pulled out a carton of orange juice. He turned around, about to take a swig from the carton, when he caught sight of Adam.

The carton of juice plummeted to the floor.

* * *

If Jesse had known what that day would hold, he would never have gone to sleep the night before. He woke up the same time he usually did when he was planning to go practice, trying to be as quiet as possible so he wouldn't wake his brother while also attempting to maneuver around their room while barely conscious.

He slowly made his way towards the kitchen, knowing some juice would help him wake up before he got ready. He was just about to take a drink when he saw someone standing across the room.

Adam.

The juice slipped from his hand in his shock, but he didn't notice. He blinked a few times, certain he was either dreaming or hallucinating.

Adam's laugh made him realize that this was real. Adam was really there...just standing in the middle of his apartment.

* * *

Adam had to laugh. Jesse just looked so surprised and confused. He walked over to him, his relief that he was here only increasing.

"Hey."

"Hey, cake-eater," Jesse huffed out in his still-shocked state.

They hugged for a good minute before they pulled back and Jesse's inquisitive mind got the better of him.

"What are you doing here?"

Adam's first response came in the form of him placing his lips against Jesse's. It had been so long for both of them since they had touched that that first hug and first kiss were cherished, savored.

When they pulled back, they went over to the couch and Adam told Jesse everything about James' plan.

Jesse couldn't believe it. He'd never be able to make this up to his dad.

But he was determined to try.

They decided to use that day to just lay around and enjoy each other. They'd go out practicing tomorrow. Adam was nervous about playing with a bunch of kids he'd never met and who he knew probably saw him as a stuck up little rich boy, but he knew that with Jesse, he'd be okay.

So they both kicked back on the couch and watched some movies, Adam tucked into Jesse's side.

When Terry woke up, he was first surprised to see his brother home, and then even more so when he caught sight of Adam. His shock only lasted a moment, though, before a smile graced his face, relieved that his brother would be much happier now.

He talked to the two of them for a while before getting dressed and heading over to Tammy and Tommy's.

That left the two of them alone for the rest of the day.

And they couldn't have been happier.


	12. Back to the Old Grind

When his dad picked him up from the school that night, full of questions about the summit, Adam felt so at ease from spending the day with Jesse that he easily told his dad tales of supposed drills he had done and what he had learned, a genuine smile on his face the whole time.

The rest of summer vacation went on much the same. Eventually came the day Jesse was to take Adam to practice with him for the first time. Adam's stomach was in knots but he tried his best to not let it show.

He needn't have worried.

As he had suspected, all the guys he met there sized him up at first, but, seeing that he was there with Jesse Hall, let him be, and by the end of the first day, they had all grown to respect him as a player and like him as a person.

If Adam's parents had paid much attention to their son, they would have noticed the changes in him. He was happy every day and much more agreeable.

Inevitably, school had to start up again.

The last day of the 'summit', James left work early and cooked dinner for Jesse, Terry, Adam, and Tammy. Due to how much time he had to devote to his job, it wasn't often that James got to cook for his boys, but when he did, it was always delicious, something Adam and Tammy quickly realized.

After dinner, Jesse and Adam went outside to talk for a bit before James had to bring Adam back to the school.

"I can't believe summer's almost over," Adam said, staring up at the oranges and pinks of the sky.

"I know. And then Monday it's back to classes and homework and strict teachers and crappy food," Jesse finished with a chuckle.

Adam laughed and looked over, studying Jesse in profile.

"I'm gonna miss this."

Jesse turned his head and their eyes connected for a moment before Jesse's quiet response came, accompanied by a small sad smile.

"Me, too."

He reached out and squeezed Adam's hand firmly before changing the subject.

"So...you ready for a whole 'nother year of math?" he asked with exaggerated excitement and an equally fake smile.

Adam groaned at the mere thought, throwing his head back.

"Don't remind me. I can't even imagine. You're definitely gonna have to help me again this year. I swear you're the only one who can make that stuff make even the slightest bit of sense."

Jesse laughed, shaking his head.

"It'll be my pleasure."

Soon it was time for Adam and James to head out. After a final hug and quick kiss, the boys separated, Adam setting off with James and Jesse heading back inside.

* * *

Monday morning came much too quickly.

On one side of town, a sleepy 12-year-old rolled out of bed and looked for some clothes through slightly cracked eyes.

Meanwhile, a similar scene was unfolding in an apartment across town, only here two semi-conscious boys were trying to maneuver around each other as well as everything else in their room.

Once school began, everyone fell back into their old routine.

Adam went to his Advanced classes, where he was immediately assaulted with work he didn't remember at all, and Jesse and Terry headed off to their regular classes where most teachers merely went over the syllabus while a couple reviewed things they should have learned the previous year.

Lunch was the only reprieve. All the Ducks sat together, discussing their classes and teachers. Some stories from the Junior Goodwill Games were shared, too, with the ones who weren't there.

By the time the day was over, everyone was exhausted. All they could think was that they had two more years of this.

* * *

And that was exactly what they got.

Two years of homework and teachers and stress. Two years of Jesse tutoring Adam so he would do well on his math tests, explaining theories in a way that Adam's mind could comprehend.

There were a few highlights of those years, though.

Like when some of the Ducks began to find out about them.

Looking back, they should have seen it coming. If anyone were to pick up on their relationship, it would be Charlie and Guy.

Charlie was Jesse's best friend, and Guy was Terry's, so they were both over the Halls' place all the time. Eventually, on separate occasions, they both pulled Jesse and Adam aside and asked them head-on. Both boys had noticed how often Adam was around the Halls' place and could see the little things between them.

They had both sworn secrecy, but it wasn't long before all of the original Ducks knew.

It was kind of funny, once you thought about it. Each new person that had found out had truly tried their hardest to keep it to themselves, but, one by one, they each cracked.

Being his girlfriend, Terry had let it slip to Tammy, who in turn had let it slip to her brother. Guy, for the same reason as Terry, had let Connie in on the secret. Charlie had accidentally let it slip to Fulton...and so on and so forth.

Surprisingly, or maybe not, considering how close they all really were, all the Ducks were cool with the new development. There was one thing they made sure stayed the same, though.

Besides James Hall, no adult was to know. Parents had their own weird network, so who knew what could happen if someone found out and it somehow eventually reached Mr. Banks?

Overall, though, everything was going smoothly. Relationships were maturing and feelings were growing more intense. Terry and Tammy had told each other they loved each other, and even though they were young, anyone who knew them could tell that they meant it whenever it was said.

Both Jesse and Adam had yet to say those words to the other, though.

Their feelings for each other had grown so much and yet neither of them could voice it.

Looking back on it now, a grown Adam Banks thinks it was what they both subconsciously knew those words would symbolize; a fact they both already knew but neither wanted to admit to themselves.

That they both depended on each other now. For their sanity, their comfort, their relief.

Still, they carried on as they always did, content with what they had, until 8th grade started coming to a close and two words came into the vocabulary of every member of the Ducks.

Eden. Hall.


	13. First Day

It was completely unexpected, was what it was. One day Coach Bombay rounded up all the Ducks again and told them about Eden Hall. He said that they were offering scholarships to all the members of the Ducks who played in the Junior Goodwill Games.

Immediately, all the Ducks invited roared against it.

'Why do we get to go and not them?'

'Why would we  _want_ to go to some preppy school, anyway?'

It took Bombay explaining what a great opportunity it would be and that they would still be able to see everyone else after school and on weekends for everyone to reluctantly agree. Well, almost everyone.

Jesse Hall had remained silent, lost deep in thought.

* * *

He brought it up to his dad that night and told him that he couldn't go. He couldn't leave Terry behind.

James looked at his son with an understanding expression but insisted that he take the scholarship.

It was to no avail, however. His son's mind was made up, and he knew from experience that Jesse was perhaps the most stubborn person he'd ever known.

Shaking his head, James stood up from his seat on the couch and looked at his son.

"Alright, Jesse. But you know what you gotta do now, right? You gotta tell Adam."

Jesse closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Yeah, he knew. And that was definitely something he wasn't looking forward to.

* * *

He put it off as long as he could. Once school let out and the 'National Junior Hockey Summit' started up again for the third year in a row, Jesse felt more and more pressure to bring his plans up to Adam.

He finally got up the courage one day when they were just relaxing at the apartment.

Needless to say, Adam didn't take it well.

"What are you talking about? You have to come! How am I supposed to deal with a new school without you?"

Jesse gave a sad smile but pressed on.

"I know. I know it's gonna suck and it's gonna be really hard. But we can still see each other on weekends..."

"But  _why?"_

Jesse took a deep breath.

"Because I can't leave Terry. I know he's growing up now, but it's just...I've taken care of him my whole life. With my dad working all the time, I'm the one that cooks dinner and makes sure he's alright. I'm the one who makes sure he does his homework so he doesn't fall behind."

Adam just looked at Jesse. He had that same understanding look in his eyes that James had had. He wanted to tell Jesse that Terry was obviously old enough to take care of himself, but he just couldn't bring himself to. The look on Jesse's face showed that he was obviously torn, and Adam didn't want to make him feel any worse, so he just pulled him into a hug and they stayed like that on the couch for a while, savoring the time they still had.

* * *

Finally the day came for the ones going to Eden Hall to formally accept their scholarships and move into the dorms. Only parents of the ones attending were allowed to be at the ceremony, so Jesse wasn't allowed to go.

So he was surprised that morning when he heard his bedroom window open and turned to see Adam climbing through, even dressed in his fancy clothes for the ceremony later that morning.

"What are you doing here? You have to be at that school in-"

He was cut off by Adam yanking him closer by his shirt and planting a deep kiss on his lips.

They both just let themselves go for a few minutes, running their fingers through each other's hair, appreciating everything as if it were the last time.

They finally pulled back when the need to breathe became an issue, their eyes still glazed over.

"I just had to get one more of those in before I go," Adam finally said quietly, a smirk playing on his face.

Jesse laughed. "Look who decided to finally break out."

Adam chuckled, a shy yet proud smile on his face. He and Jesse shared one more quick kiss before he headed back for the window.

"I'll call you when I get the chance."

"Alright. Be careful, cake-eater."

As Adam descended the fire escape, Jesse watched from above, believing everything would turn out okay.

* * *

Adam woke up that morning with a feeling of dread in his stomach. It didn't help that not long after he awoke he heard his dad pounding on his bedroom door, reminding him to dress his best.

With a huff, he got up and put on some of his dressiest clothes, even though the "ceremony", if you wanted to call it that, wasn't for at least four hours. That left him with nothing but time to think. And the more he thought, the more anxious he became.

Why was he doing this? He didn't want to do this. He wanted to stay where he was. Secure. With Jesse.

Jesse.

At the thought of him, Adam knew what he had to do. He knew that if anything was gonna make him feel better about this new transition, it was gonna come from Jesse.

So, with that in mind, he snuck out the front door while his parents were getting ready and headed over to the Halls'.

When he got there, he climbed up the fire escape that he knew led to Jesse and Terry's room.

Through the window, he could see Jesse on his bed but no sign of Terry.

He opened the window and stepped through, looking up to see that Jesse was in fact awake.

It was this moment that made the day real, but before he could let the anxiety creep up within him again, he grabbed Jesse and pulled him into a kiss.

When they pulled back, he felt rejuvenated. When Jesse laughed about him finally "breaking out", he had to admit that he was proud of himself. He was finally doing what he wanted, what he felt.

He looked back down at his clothes once he reached the ground and thought,

'Well...partly, anyway.'

* * *

The "ceremony" was uneventful. Though soon after, they all heard that they were to get a new coach.

Adam was worried; it didn't feel right playing for someone else, but he'd make the most of it. Then the first day of school came.

Once again, his parents had made him dress in some of his dressiest clothes.

"To make a good impression," his dad had said.

Rolling his eyes, Adam had gotten dressed and met with all the 'Minnesota Ducks' who would be going to Eden Hall. The ones who came from around the country would be coming in together.

As they skated towards the school, Adam kept his mind busy; he focused on his last moments with Jesse, on the idea of having a new coach, on being in a new school.

It was Charlie commenting on his tie that brought him out of his thoughts. When he called him a cake-eater, his head snapped in his direction. No one had ever called him that besides Jesse. It just felt wrong coming from someone else's mouth, even if it was one of his closest friends.

Looking back on that first day now, Adam thinks he should have taken that crash through the curtain on the stage for what it was.

A sign of things to come.

* * *

_As Adam descended the fire escape, Jesse watched from above, believing everything would turn out okay._

Yeah. That didn't happen.

He got a call from Adam that first night. He sounded out of breath and on the verge of a panic attack.

He tried his best to make out what he was saying.

_new coach...crazy...varsity..._

When it didn't seem like he would be able to do much for Adam's frantic mind over the phone, he came up with the one thing he figured would help.

"Why don't you come over to my place. Come through the fire escape. I'll make sure the window's open."

Even on skates, he never would have expected Adam to get there so fast.


	14. Salvation

When he heard his window open, he immediately shot to it, watching with worried eyes as Adam climbed through. Once he was in the room, Adam looked up and, seeing Jesse standing there, silently grabbed him in a vice-like grip, nearly knocking both of them over in the process.

Terry looked over at the two of them from the other side of the room. From what he had overheard from the phone call earlier, he didn't know exactly what was going on, but he knew his brother was worried about Adam. As he watched Jesse lead Adam to his bed, Terry turned over onto his other side to give them some privacy, his ears still half-listening to their conversation.

Jesse gently led Adam over to his bed where they sat down together. It was only then that Adam was able to lift his head from the security of Jesse's shoulder.

"So what happened?"

Adam took a breath before beginning his tale.

By the time he was done, he was in nearly as much of a frenzy as he had been when he had called Jesse earlier that night.

Jesse rushed to soothe him while also trying to digest everything Adam had just told him.

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's gonna be okay. Shhh."

He placed his hands on either side of Adam's face, forcing him to look into his eyes.

The look on Adam's face nearly broke his heart.

"No, it's not! How am I gonna do this every day? I can't! I'm not gonna  _survive_!"

Jesse gave him a sympathetic look and pulled him back to lay on the bed.

"Yes, you will. You're strong; I know you are. You just gotta keep doing what you need to do. You go to your classes, you play hockey, and just remember that at the end of the day, I'm gonna be here."

Adam closed his eyes and nodded, his fears easing slightly. As he drifted into a peaceful sleep, secure in the knowledge that Jesse would be there when he woke up, Jesse did not. He remained awake, thinking about everything Adam had told him.

He  _was_ proud that Adam had made varsity, though not totally surprised. Yeah, he was a freshman, but he was  _good_.

He knew it wasn't as good of a circumstance as it would seem on the surface, though.

Adam always wanted to fit in wherever he was; it was a trait he had had even back in his days on the Hawks. It probably even started earlier, knowing how Mr. Banks was with the standards he set for his son. Now, Adam was going to have to try to cope with a new group of people all over again, while being separated from his friends.

And from what Adam had told him about his first day on varsity, Jesse knew there weren't going to be any bonds being formed between Adam and the other varsity players.

After learning he had made varsity, Adam had to go back to his room to gather his stuff. There were dorms specifically designated for the varsity hockey players, so he would have to move.

With a bad feeling in his gut, he slowly got all his stuff together. Guy, who had been his initial roommate, came into their room and helped him get everything packed away.

"Good luck, man. It sucks you won't be with us, but you'll do great."

"Thanks, Guy."

The two of them gathered up Adam's things and brought them to his new room. The one positive was that since he wasn't expected to be on varsity, everyone else on the team already had a roommate, so Adam got a room to himself.

"Well...I'll see you around, man. I'll see you in class."

"Yeah. Thanks again, Guy."

"No problem. See ya."

It wasn't long after Guy had left that the door to Adam's room was banged open and all the members of the varsity entered the room, looking like a red and white preppy version of the mafia.

Riley approached Adam, whose breathing started to pick up instantly.

"Listen, you little chump. You don't have your little cheap band of rejects anymore. We hear you're good...well you better prove it, and you better do exactly what we say...always...or you'll have your ass handed to you on a platter. Do you understand?"

Adam tried his best, but he couldn't find his voice, so he simply nodded mutely, waiting for the varsity players to leave his room before he collapsed onto his bed, gasping for breath.

He immediately ran for the payphone, digging around for change so he could call Jesse.

Jesse looked down at Adam as his mind brought him back to the present. He hoped with all his might that everything for Adam would get better before it got worse, but he knew the world didn't always work that way. He pulled Adam closer, squeezing him tightly, knowing that regardless of what was to come, he'd be here.

He'd always be here.


	15. The Beginning of the Downfall

The next morning, Jesse woke Adam early so he had time to head back to Eden Hall.

"Hey... hey," he whispered, shaking Adam's shoulder gently.

"Mm," Adam murmured as he turned onto his back. When he opened his eyes and saw Jesse, he couldn't help but smile. "Morning."

"Good morning to you," Jesse chuckled before leaning down and capturing Adam's lips in a gentle kiss.

"Are you ready for today?" he asked once he had pulled back.

Adam sighed in resignation, knowing what lie ahead of him not only today but the many days to come. He knew now, though, that he could still always come back here. This was home.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Jesse smiled and pulled Adam into another kiss, this one much deeper, full of meaning.

Adam wrapped his arms around Jesse's neck, pulling him even closer. If he had it his way, he'd stay here forever, but alas that just wasn't possible.

He made sure that moment lasted as long as it could, though.

When Jesse started to pull back, Adam refused to let him go, instead pulling him even closer, Jesse's body eventually lying on top of his.

When their lungs were finally at their breaking point, both boys pulled back, breathing heavily with glazed eyes. Once they got their breathing under control, Adam finally got up and headed towards the window.

"If you need anything... _anything_...I'll be here."

Adam turned at Jesse's words and offered him a smile. Jesse believed he could do this and he hated the idea of letting him down. He couldn't let Jesse lose his optimism.

"I know," he replied truthfully. If he knew anything at all, it was that.

As he made his way down the fire escape, he held on to Jesse's optimism, hoping against all hope that today would be better.

* * *

Though nothing really got better, luckily for Adam, it didn't really get worse either.

He did exactly as Jesse had told him.

He went to his classes, which were incredibly hard. Most nights, either after hockey practice or immediately after school if there was no practice that day, he would bring his books over to the Hall home, where Jesse would sit him down and go over everything, making all the gibberish written on the papers and in the books he had actually become words. Concrete thoughts he could understand.

He played hockey. The varsity team were still treating him like the scum on their shoe, taking advantage of every opportunity they had to intimidate the hell out of him.

Adam had quite a few flashbacks to when he was on the Hawks.

And every night, Jesse was there. Just like he said he'd be.

He would sneak in through the window after they knew James was asleep, and then back out early the next morning.

It made life okay.

When it came time for the first JV game, Adam, through obligation, went along with the rest of the varsity players, sitting with them in the stands as he watched his friends venture onto the ice.

He tried his best to control his excitement for them, being shoved down immediately after he had let his spirit get the better of him, rising to his feet and clapping after Charlie had scored a goal.

He still couldn't help but smile, though, as he watched the trademarks of his different friends being played out in front of an entirely new audience. Dwayne's puck handling. Luis' inability to stop.

He missed them.

When the third period started, he was certain they had it in the bag. There was no way the other team could catch up by nine goals in a single period.

Then he watched in shock as it all fell apart.

The Bears started racking up goals left and right; and then Charlie was sent to the box.

By the end of it, it was a tie, and Adam hurt for his friends. He had no idea what had happened to them.

It wasn't until they were all leaving that the other guys on varsity told him what they had done to his former teammates' clothes.


	16. Irony and Fate

He spent the rest of that night paranoid.

Just when he thought he was at least surviving on varsity, they had to go and screw everything up, pranking his friends when they were at their lowest.

The guys on varsity practically kept him hostage for most of the night, celebrating their "victory" over the JV team. Adam's nerves were on overdrive the entire time.

Would his friends retaliate? Did they think he had something to do with it? Did they all despise him now?

It didn't help matters much to know that the majority of them, at least the Minnesota Ducks, didn't exactly have the financial means to buy new clothes whenever they needed. It may have only been one outfit for each of them that had been destroyed, but to Adam's guilt-ridden mind, it was as if he had taken their parents' money and just thrown it away.

When he finally escaped to the sanctuary that was Jesse's apartment later that night, he told him everything. Every last thought in his head.

Jesse assured him that it would all blow over, but he understood Adam's concern. Adam could tell Jesse already hated the guys on the varsity team, sensing what they stood for and the kind of people they were without having even met them once. Between how they treated his boyfriend and the way they looked down on his friends, he knew they were just like the guys on the Hawks had been. He hated that he couldn't be there.

He couldn't be the support he'd always been.

When Adam left the next morning, he gave Jesse his word that he would call to let him know how everything had turned out.

* * *

When the Ducks had retaliated by destroying the varsity jackets, Adam actually had to laugh. That  _was_ pretty genius. Plus, he knew they could easily get new jackets made for them, which they did.

After that, it seemed as though everything had been swept under the rug and everyone involved was past it. The varsity guys told him about a tradition where the varsity hockey team take the freshmen to dinner at the Minnesota Club. It sounded legitimate, something Eden Hall would definitely do in order to showcase its never-ending supply of "class."

He made sure to put his friends at ease, secure in what he knew  _had_ to be  _one_ angst-free evening.

He had forgotten that the fates seemed to have it out for him.

* * *

They didn't tell him until they were on the way to the restaurant.

Of course, he should have known his hopes for peace would be shattered.

He had a long way to go before he reached Jesse's level of optimism.

The entire dinner, he felt sick to his stomach. He could barely keep down his food, let alone look any of his friends in the eye.

This was the ultimate crime they could pull on them. A bunch of rich, spoiled kids leaving a bunch of unsuspecting people on the opposite end of the income scale with a bill Adam was sure would be almost a thousand dollars.

As soon as he got back to the dorm, he immediately ran for the restroom, puking out all the contents of his stomach.

He didn't even go see Jesse that night. He didn't feel he deserved the relief.

* * *

The bites from the fire ants hurt like hell, but not nearly as much as when Charlie, of all people, didn't believe him when he said he had had no idea about the set-up at the restaurant.

Charlie was one of his closest friends, and Jesse's best friend. How could he doubt him?

He remembered with vivid clarity the day he first showed up in a Ducks locker room, Charlie trying to welcome him before Jesse held him back, trying to protect his friend.

If he weren't in the middle of such a stressful situation, Adam would have laughed at the irony of it all.

Once the game started, as he had predicted, the varsity team was brutal.

He still played as hard as he could, knowing the Ducks weren't going to be showing him any sympathy and the varsity players would kill him if they noticed he was slacking, but he refused to follow the "by any means necessary" approach.

He refused to cheat.

And yet, that still didn't save him from ridicule at the hands of the people he thought were his friends.

When he and Charlie finally came to a head, he couldn't believe it was actually happening.

All he wanted was to fit in wherever he was and for everyone to get along. He tried his best to always follow the rules and do what made people happy. And now he was thrown into this chaos where the closest to him were looking at him like an enemy.

When Charlie told him to go "cry to his rich parents," he had finally had it.

Charlie didn't know the torment he suffered through every day. He didn't know how much he hated that he had money while his friends' families struggled to make ends meet. Didn't know how cold and demanding his parents were and how it all just killed him inside.

The only one who truly knew it all was Jesse. He was the only one who cared.

And it looked like now he was all he had.


	17. On Their Own

When Adam showed up at his apartment that morning, just before he had to wake up to go to school, Jesse was completely unprepared for the human tornado of emotion that was his boyfriend.

He hadn't gotten much sleep that night, too worried by the fact that he hadn't received the promised phone call from Adam, nor any visit that night.

He was on that verge between consciousness and sleep when he heard his window pop open.

Before he could even register what was happening, he felt a sudden weight as his boyfriend launched himself onto his bed, wrapping his arms tightly around his neck.

"Hey...hey, what's going on?" he asked once he was able to register that he was awake.

Adam brought his head up, looking Jesse directly in the eyes.

" _Please_ ," he begged, "don't go to school today. Stay home with me."

Jesse was without a doubt surprised by the request, but he didn't question it, not yet, anyway. After not seeing or hearing from Adam the previous night, and now seeing the pure need for this one favor in his eyes, Jesse knew this was something they both needed. They'd use the day to sort through everything he could tell Adam was carrying around with him.

* * *

Seeing as Jesse and Terry usually left for school while their dad was getting ready for work, all Jesse and Adam had to do was stay quiet until they heard James leave. They told Terry what they planned to do once he had woken up, and though he was jealous that his brother would skip school while he still went, he could tell that this wasn't going to be a fun day of hooky. Adam looked to be a nervous wreck and Jesse looked worried out of his mind.

He quietly told them both good luck as he silently slipped out of the apartment.

Jesse and Adam remained in bed, silently waiting for James to leave. Adam curled himself into Jesse's side, trying his best to let the other boy's scent calm him.

Jesse never once took his eyes off him, the worry building with each passing moment.

* * *

Once they were sure James had left, the two boys sat up. Jesse turned to Adam with a look of both sympathy and seriousness.

"Alright. Spill."

And spill he did.

He told Jesse about the restaurant...the fire ants...the game at the crack of dawn.

To his credit, the other boy didn't say a word until Adam was through, watching silently as his thoughts rushed out of him.

He watched as Adam went from the verge of tears to downright enraged, getting up and pacing the room as he described the fight with Charlie.

When he was finally done, he looked to Jesse, his breaths coming in heavy pants, his hair sticking in various directions from his yanking on it in pure frustration.

Jesse took his time, processing everything he had been told.

He was disgusted when he heard about what had happened at the restaurant. He knew that if he had been there, heads would have rolled. His heart ached when he heard Adam say that he hadn't come to see him that night because he didn't feel he deserved it.

What the hell were these people doing to his boy? It seemed like varsity and Ducks alike were making him slowly lose his sanity.

It was when Adam got to telling him about the fight with Charlie that Jesse became truly livid, though, for Adam's sake, he tried his best not to show it.

He felt something he had never in his life experienced before...something he never expected to.

A strong desire to knock out his best friend.

What was going on with Charlie? From what Adam had been telling him recently, it wasn't just problems with Adam either. Something was seriously off with him and Jesse knew he had to find out what it was.

Still, even though he was certain there was some kind of deep, underlying reason to his friend's recent actions, there was something...some primal instinct within him...that didn't want to listen to reason. He just wanted to punch Charlie in the face for what he had said and done to Adam.

He was like an animal needing to protect his mate.

* * *

They spent the rest of the day in the apartment, Adam becoming more and more relaxed the longer he was "home".

Jesse spent most of the day thinking, but failed to come up with anything concrete by the time the day started coming to a close. He needed more information.

He needed to talk to Charlie.

When Adam finally left, he told him that he just needed to do whatever was necessary to make it through the day. If he needed to be completely on his own for a while, then he should do that. Spend his time focusing on something besides the stress and anxiety he was feeling. Something that could distract him and yet keep him in a positive frame of mind.

Feeling a renewed sense of hope that only Jesse could give him, along with a brand new determination and sense of control, something he'd never felt before in his life, Adam pulled Jesse into a fierce kiss, the most heated one the two of them had shared to date.

He needed Jesse to know how much he appreciated everything he did for him, and he was finally beginning to act on what both Jesse and James had been telling him all along.

He was doing what made him happy.

To hell with everyone else.

* * *

Adam focused fully on his classes, trying his best to digest everything.

During the classes he shared with them, he never once looked at his former teammates, choosing to keep his gaze firmly on his teachers.

He did miss them, he wouldn't deny that, but he refused to acknowledge them after they had all seemingly turned their backs on him.

He continued playing hockey, letting all that the varsity players told him flow through one ear and out the other.

He wasn't afraid anymore.

And through it all, Jesse was there as a constant supply of strength.

It wasn't until they had gotten word about Hans that the Ducks would finally be brought together again.


	18. Honesty

As soon as they saw Terry walk through the door, Adam and Jesse knew something terrible had happened.

"What's going on, Terry?" Jesse asked.

It took him a few tries, but Terry finally got the words out.

"Hans is gone."

It took both boys a second to comprehend. Because that  _couldn't_ mean what their first instincts told them it meant. There was no way.

"What do you mean he's gone, Terry?!" Jesse asked anxiously.

"He...He's dead. He died in his sleep."

After that, the apartment was silent for the longest time, save for sniffling and the occasional sob.

Each of them was lost in their own world.

Jesse was in shock. Hans was like a grandfather to him. Always there with warmth and advice. Knowing that he was gone, the world suddenly felt so cold...

Adam felt like he couldn't breathe. After everything else that had been happening to him lately, this couldn't be happening too. They couldn't lose Hans.

Because of everything with his parents, Adam didn't do well with abandonment or rejection once he had grown attached to somebody, come to trust them. And as selfish as it sounded in his head, that's what it felt like. It felt like Hans had abandoned him. Without even saying goodbye.

He battled with his emotions all the way up until the day of the funeral, never saying a word about how he was feeling to Jesse, no matter how much he pushed.

* * *

The morning of the funeral, Adam got dressed in his room at his parents' house, his anger and frustration coming closer to boiling over.

His parents dropped him off and he slowly trudged his way to where Hans' body would forever be laid to rest.

He was relieved to see some friendly faces there. All of the original Ducks had shown up, all visibly upset, as well as the current Ducks of course, but Adam paid them no mind.

He watched as Terry tightened his arm around Tammy as she cried into his shoulder. His eyes caught Jesse's, who of course was staring right back at him, as he stood next to James.

Adam had to look away. He wanted so badly to run to Jesse and just sob his heart out, let Jesse love and comfort him, like he always did so well. He just couldn't bring himself to do that. He wasn't through with his anger at the world.

It turned out, he was going to confront his emotions whether he liked it or not.

* * *

After Coach Bombay had made his speech and everyone started breaking away, Jesse made a beeline for Adam, grabbing his wrist in a firm hold as he tugged him away to a more secluded area.

"We're gonna talk. Now."

Adam had a feeling this was coming. His boyfriend had been nothing but understanding but he had been refusing to talk.

"Okay, what's going on with you? I try to talk to you, you don't say anything. I try to be around you, you want nothing to do with me. What, do you want to break up with me?"

At that moment, Adam wished Jesse could see a visual of what it felt like his heart was doing. It plummeted into his stomach and shattered into a million pieces. How could Jesse  _ever_ think that he wanted them to be over? Jesse had become...and he was just now finally admitting this to himself...the most important person in his life. He was his reason to get up in the morning. His support, his motivation.

His love.

Without another word, Adam burst into tears, finally crying for everything that had happened.

He cried because his parents didn't give a single care about the real him. He cried because the friends who he had grown to trust had turned their backs on him. He cried because Hans was gone and he hadn't been able to say goodbye. He cried because the person he loved more than anyone else in the world actually thought he didn't.

It was just too much to keep built up inside anymore.

He told Jesse everything going on in his head. About feeling abandoned by Hans and not knowing how to cope with that. About the fear that everyone he cared about would leave him sooner or later.

And that was the heart of the issue.

The anger fell away from Jesse's face and he pulled his boy into a deep hug.

"Listen to me, Adam. Are you listening?" He felt the other boy nod into his shoulder.

He lifted his head by the cheeks so he was looking into his eyes.

" _I'm_ not leaving you. I'm never going to. Me and my dad and Terry...We're always going to be there for you. Always. That's not something you have to worry about losing one day. It'll always be there. I promise."

Letting out a shuttering breath, Adam pulled Jesse in for a strong hug, relief washing over him in waves.

"I love you."

As soon as the words softly left his lips, Adam tensed, scared of what would come next.

Jesse pulled back and looked him in the eye once again, the expression on his face unreadable.

"What did you say?" he asked.

"I...I..." Adam stuttered out. He knew he had to own up to it though. After all, the words were the truth and Jesse and James both had been encouraging him to be honest with and about himself.

"I love you."

The smile that came to Jesse's face was one that Adam would always remember. It was pure and full of unbridled happiness.

"I love you too, Cake Eater," he smiled, causing Adam to let out a relieved chuckle before falling into Jesse's arms. After a long hug, he pulled back, planting a deep kiss on his lips and wrapping his arms around the smooth neck. When they finally pulled apart, neither could contain their matching grins.

They were broken out of their own personal bubble when they heard someone clearing their throat behind them, turning to find Guy standing there awkwardly.

* * *

"Hey, um...listen. I just wanted to apologize for the way we've been treating you, Adam. Even though you're on Varsity, you're still you and I think we let ourselves forget that. I'm sorry for everything we did to you. We all are."

Jesse held his breath until he saw Adam smile once again.

"It's okay, Guy. I'm sorry too."

Both boys hugged briefly before Guy spoke again.

"We were talking and were thinking of having an old game of street hockey tomorrow.

What do you say?"


	19. Battles

The next day, Adam got dressed before heading down to the court to meet everyone else. He was kind of bummed Jesse couldn't make it because he had so much to do around the apartment, but he understood. He'd see him later, anyway.

As everyone played, he thought back to the day before. How something so heartbreaking and something so amazing could happen on the same day.

After making plans with Guy, Jesse and Adam decided to walk home, taking the long way just so they could have some extra time alone together. It was crazy to think such simple words had so much power. After they had both said those three words, it was like a weight had been lifted off both of them. They knew where they stood; they didn't have to hide it from one another. Maybe they were crazy...falling in love so young...but at least they were crazy together.

They talked about Hans on the way home. They spoke a bit about his death and missing him, but mostly they tried to focus on the positives, bringing up memories they each had of the wise man.

They eventually got back to the apartment and crashed on the couch, Jesse stretching out on it while Adam laid against his chest.

Once the show they were watching ended, Adam turned his head to look up at his boyfriend.

Whatever he had done in his life to deserve him and his love, he had no idea.

He slowly tilted his head and caught the other boy's lips. The kiss started out slow and gentle, but quickly became heated. Adam sat up and pulled Jesse closer. Suddenly he felt the tickle of the tip of a tongue brushing against his lips. Surprised but willing, he gave the tongue access to his mouth and met it with his own. He let out a low moan that was completely involuntary before he felt Jesse pull away, both of them out of breath.

"Wow..." was all Jesse could say, still panting. Adam nodded dumbly; his brain was having a hard time forming words at the moment. That was the most amazing thing he had ever experienced.

He was disappointed when Jesse pulled away and pulled him to his chest, meaning that their impromptu makeout session was over, but he knew not to argue. Ever the protector, he knew Jesse would never allow himself to go too far until both of them were ready.

As Adam curled himself into the other boy's chest, he let his mind focus solely on this moment.

They were in the middle of the game when he heard Dwayne's distinctive voice call out.

"Hey! It's Coach Bombay!"

And just like that, it seemed like everything was coming together.

They played and actually had fun, Charlie seemingly returning to his old self. Still, Adam couldn't help being a bit cautious around him...that was until after the game was over and Charlie pulled him aside.

"Listen, Adam, I..." Adam watched silently as Charlie struggled to find words.

"I'm really sorry for how I've been treating you. There's no excuse for it. I was horrible to you when you did nothing wrong. I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry...really, I am. I just hope I can gain your trust again."

Looking at the other boy, Adam could tell Charlie was being sincere. Whatever it was that had had him so bitter and angry before was gone and now all that was left was Charlie...the real Charlie...the one who had first attempted to offer a welcome when he had been moved from the Hawks to the Ducks.

"It's okay, man. It's okay." They quickly hugged before pulling back, Charlie letting out a relieved sigh.

"Thanks. Now I just have to hope that your boyfriend doesn't slaughter me."

Adam couldn't help but laugh at that. "Charlie, Jesse's your best friend. I highly doubt he's gonna slaughter you."

Charlie gave him a doubtful look. "We'll see..."

* * *

Everything continued on as normal until a few days later.

Adam and the rest of the Varsity team were practicing when the coach called him over.

Everything was happening so fast it was hard for him to process what was being said. Finally, he got through all the jargon and understood.

He and the rest of the Ducks would lose their scholarships.

Even though he was no longer on the same team as them, he was part of the same deal, so he would be included.

He wasn't quite sure what to think.

On one hand, he hated the snobbiness of the school...and of course the harassment he received from the other Varsity players...but once he had started being on his own more, he had come to really like his classes and his teachers.

He knew he needed to talk to Jesse.

* * *

"You're gonna fight it, right?"

Those were the first words out of Jesse's mouth once Adam had explained the situation.

Adam was a bit surprised. He figured Jesse would want him to leave Eden Hall so they could go to the same school again. "You want me to stay? You...you don't want me to go to school with you?"

Jesse chuckled. "Cake-eater, I would love it if we went to the same school again, but this is about you. Do you really want to leave? You've been so excited about your classes lately, and your hockey has only improved. Something tells me you would like to stay..."

Adam had to laugh. "Will you stop reading my mind?! It's creepy!" he teased.

That seemed to ease the seriousness of the situation. Jesse pulled Adam into a quick kiss before they shared a strong hug, Adam burying his head in the other's shoulder.

"I do wish we could go to the same school, though," he whispered. "I know we get to see each other most nights, but it's not the same. I miss you."

"I know. I miss you too. But don't worry. We'll make it work. Right now we just gotta focus on you getting your scholarship back."

Neither of the two noticed Terry listening just outside of the doorway.

* * *

Adam had to give Charlie credit. Bringing in Coach Bombay as their lawyer was pure genius.

After everything was said and done, they were all staying in school. He knew Jesse would be ecstatic.

Of course, the Varsity team had to confront them as soon as the meeting was over, but, as Adam had been doing, he didn't care one way or another what they said. None of it mattered.

It felt great to hear Charlie call him "one of us" again though. He knew he was back where he belonged.

* * *

They worked hard. The entire team worked their asses off preparing for the JV-Varsity game. Though Adam was excited to be back with his friends and to see them all doing so well in practice, he was still nervous as hell.

He was surprised a couple hours before the game, while debating with himself about whether or not he should go see Jesse, when his boyfriend beat him to it.

There was a knock on the door to his dorm room, which he was once again sharing with Guy. The other boy answered the door, a smile instantly coming to Adam's face as he overheard the exchange.

"Jesse! Hey, what's up, man?! You coming to the game?"

"Of course! Wouldn't miss it! Hey, Terry's right outside if you wanna go hang out with him for a bit before the game starts."

Always excited to see his best friend, especially now that they didn't go to the same school anymore, Guy quickly left the room, Jesse closing the door behind him.

"So...how are you feeling?" He could tell his boyfriend was nervous and he wanted to do what he could to ease his mind.

"I'm nervous...and I'm scared...and I'm excited...God, it's exhausting!"

Jesse laughed as he sat on the bed, pulling Adam against his side.

" _Don't_ stress yourself out. And don't overthink it. Just go out there and do you. Play hard and give 'em hell. I'll be there watching the whole time."

That seemed to ease Adam's nerves a bit, as he let out a long breath. He had to be fearless. He had to make Jesse proud of him.

* * *

They all made their way out onto the ice. It felt so right to officially be a "Duck" again. As they each brought a hand to the ice, Adam for that brief moment felt peace. He hadn't been able to say goodbye to Hans but he felt like he was doing it now. In the best way he could.

Then the hell began. Adam knew the game would be brutal and that's exactly what it was. Still, they were holding their own. By the time they went back to the locker room, they were all exhausted.

Portman's arrival was just what they needed.

Everyone was completely revitalized and ready to go back into battle.

By the end of the game, they had pulled out a victory. It was incredible. Adam felt like he was on top of the world. When he heard Charlie call their attention, he turned to see not only Coach Bombay in the audience, but also a banner for the school's new mascot.

It was just perfect.

Naturally, Adam's vision was drawn to someone just a few rows behind Coach Bombay. He saw Jesse standing, along with not only his dad and Terry, but the rest of the original Ducks too. He wanted to run up into the stands but knew he couldn't...or at least shouldn't.

Everyone celebrated...He saw Luis making out with one of the Varsity cheerleaders. 'When did that happen?' he thought with a chuckle.

He saw Charlie kissing that Linda girl; that made him smile. Adam really liked her and he had a feeling she would be good for Charlie.

Still, with all the love going around, he felt he deserved some of his own.

As the team were all making their way back to the locker room, he felt a hand grab his and pull him away from the group.

He instantly knew who it was.

The hand pulled him close and he was met with a deep kiss as he was pressed against a wall.

They eventually pulled back, breathless.

"I'm so proud of you. So, so proud."

Adam beamed. That made him feel like he had won a prize. Jesse's opinion wasn't just the most important one to him these days, but one of the few that mattered at all.

As everyone went out to celebrate that night, Adam couldn't help but think that after everything he had been through, life was good.


	20. Conversations and Confrontations

As their first year of high school continued on, things were running much more smoothly. The members of the varsity team still didn't like them, but they were civil, so there weren't too many more problems.

Coach Orion didn't want them to lose their edge, so even after the season was over, they continued to have regular practices. This kept Adam focused but left him exhausted. The nights he could get over to Jesse's he would just collapse on the bed and they would sleep peacefully until the next morning.

It was about two weeks after the season had ended that Charlie was greeted by an unexpected visitor.

* * *

Charlie had been spending most of those two weeks with Linda, both of them getting to really know each other, so he hadn't seen too much of his friends. The team was coming back to the dorms when he locked eyes with his best friend.

As soon as he saw the look on Jesse's face, Adam knew why he was there. He quickly tried to intercept his boyfriend.

"Jesse, hey, it's fine. Everything's worked out. We're good." He was gently pushing Jesse back…just in case.

Charlie stepped up, though, never breaking eye contact with Jesse. "It's alright, Adam. We've been needing to have this talk."

Jesse nodded and everyone watched the two leave to find a private place to talk. All the non-Minnesota Ducks, who were still in the dark about Jesse and Adam's relationship, looked to the Edina native in confusion, but he said nothing, making his way to his dorm room.

* * *

Jesse and Charlie found a secluded bench outside and took a seat.

"You knew we'd talk eventually, right?" Jesse asked with a smirk.

Charlie chuckled. "Yeah, I was just biding my time until you attacked."

They both laughed before getting back to the subject at hand.

"What the hell, Charlie? Adam told me everything. Everything. At first I couldn't believe it. It just didn't sound like you at all."

Charlie nodded. He knew he had practically been a completely different person this year.

"I guess it all started with Bombay leaving. So many things were changing way too fast. And then when Adam went to varsity, it was just one more thing…someone else leaving," he finished quietly.

"You know," Jesse started gently, "I used to always think you were too trusting…and then it was like you didn't trust anyone at all."

Charlie knew Jesse was exactly right. When they were little, Charlie would cling to every new person that came into his life. Each time his mom got a new boyfriend, he would assume they would stay forever. Jesse used to tell him it wasn't a good idea. He hated seeing his best friend so crushed every time someone left. That was why he was protective of Charlie. When Adam first came to the Ducks, he made sure to put the brakes on Charlie's welcoming nature. He didn't want to see this outsider who had tormented them hurt his friend.

"But Charlie, it's okay to trust people. Not everyone is going to abandon you. After all, I've put up with you all these years."

They both laughed as Charlie punched him in the shoulder.

"Change isn't always a bad thing, man. That's how we grow. I know not everyone you will meet will be trustworthy, but the ones that really matter will always stay."

Charlie tried with all his might not to cry. He really did. But he couldn't help his eyes getting wet. He blinked quickly to try to keep the tears at bay.

"Thanks, man. You're...you're right. I know you're right. I guess I just needed someone to remind me of the obvious."

Jesse smiled, relieved they were back to the way they had always been. "Hey, that's what I'm here for, man."

They walked back to the dorms, Charlie popping his head into Adam's room as Jesse entered before heading to his own room.

"Still in one piece, Banks," he smiled.

Adam chuckled. "See? I told you."

As the door closed, Adam curled up against his boyfriend's chest. "Everything go okay?"

"Yup. Everything's good now."

Adam smiled. "You're amazing."

Before Jesse could ask what he meant by that, he saw that the other boy was fast asleep.

* * *

The school year was coming to a close and everyone was preparing, anxious for summer vacation to start but also looking forward to what the next year would be like.

One day, Terry finally decided it was time to talk to his brother about what had been brewing in his head for a long while.

"Hey, Jess, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure, bro," Jesse responded, surprised and a bit confused. They both took a seat on the couch, Terry taking a deep breath before starting.

"Listen, I know you didn't take that scholarship to Eden Hall because of me. I know you feel like it's your job to look after me. But Jesse, I'm old enough to take care of myself now. I know how much you miss going to school with Adam. I see it every day. And…though I hate to admit it…" he paused here with a smirk. "I know how much better at hockey you are than me. Hell, how much better you are than most of the Ducks. You could really have a future in it. And the best way for you to get noticed would be if you went to Eden Hall. Scouts don't exactly flock to our school and you know it."

Jesse looked down. He knew his brother was right.

"So you should talk to Coach Bombay. See if it's not too late for you to take the scholarship. They let Portman take it after the year had started so you should be able to. You should do this, bro. Really. For you."

Jesse sighed. He was torn. He knew Eden Hall was a great opportunity, but he also still felt that need to look after his brother. And what about the others? Peter and Tommy and Karp?

Then his own words to Charlie came back to him. The ones that really matter would always be there. Even if he went to a different school.

He looked at his brother.

"I'll make you a deal. I'll talk to Coach and if it turns out I can, I'll transfer junior year. That way I'll have two years here and two years there. How about that?"

Terry let out an exasperated breath. He should have known his brother would be stubborn.

"Deal."

* * *

The second year of high school began for everyone with no major problems. Jesse had talked to Bombay who said he would look into the possibility of him being able to transfer the following year. Adam and Jesse fell back into their old routine until one fateful day.

They were about halfway through practice, Coach Orion having them scrimmage when a loud bang was heard.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked up to see Philip Banks bounding quickly to the edge of the rink.

"Adam Banks!" he hollered. "You come over here this instant!"

Shocked and terrified, Adam quickly skated over, Coach Orion resuming practice so everyone wasn't staring at the two Bankses to the side.

As soon as he saw the look in his father's eyes, Adam knew it wasn't good.

"Ye-yes, Dad?"

"How could you?" the livid man asked.

"How could I what?"

"Don't play dumb with me! I know. I know all about you and that…that  _Hall_ kid! Tell me I'm wrong! I want you to look me in the eye right now and tell me I'm wrong!"

It was as if at that moment Adam could feel Jesse and James on either side of him, giving the courage and strength he needed to do what he had never been able to do before. Stand up to his father.

"I can't do that. We're together. We've been dating since we were in sixth grade. I love him, Dad."

Philip Banks' hand moved so fast Adam didn't even register the slap to his face until he felt the pain of whiplash in his neck.

Having seen it all unfold, Orion quickly skated over to the two.

"Hey! I will not tolerate you hitting one of my players. You need to leave.  _Now_."

Still, Philip fought, actually trying to climb over the barricade as Orion held him back.

"I can't believe you! You make me sick. I never thought you would end up a fag with that piece of trash nigger."

At the same time Orion cut him off with a stiff "Hey! Out!" Adam leapt towards his father, but Charlie and Guy held him back.

"Don't you dare talk about him like that! He's a better person than you'll ever be, you heartless asshole!"

"You're dead to me, do you understand?" the older man yelled back. "Dead to me. I don't ever want to see you set foot in my house again."

Orion finally climbed over the barricade himself and escorted the older Banks out.

Everyone else stood there in silence.

Adam was breathing hard, still livid because of what his father had said. He couldn't believe those words had come out of his mouth…about someone Adam loved so much.

Charlie and Guy walked him over to the bleachers as Orion made his way back. He saw the two boys situating Banks and nodded, calling for everyone else to continue.

He walked over and brought himself to Adam's level.

"I'm so sorry, Adam. I'm so sorry."

Adam merely nodded. The adrenaline was beginning wear off. He looked at Charlie desperately.

"What am I gonna do? I don't have anywhere to live. I don't have any of my stuff. Where am I gonna live?!"

"I'll be right back," Charlie murmured quickly before dashing out to the nearest payphone.

As soon as he heard the familiar voice pick up, he sighed with relief.

"Jesse? You need to get down here. Adam needs you. Now."


	21. Home

By the time he reached the hockey rink at Eden Hall Academy, Jesse was sweating profusely. He had put on his skates and raced out of his apartment building, a million different scenarios going through his head. He could tell from Charlie's tone that whatever it was was serious so he didn't ask any questions.

He just ran.

Once he made it inside, his eyes darted around, anxiously looking for his boyfriend. He saw the team practicing out on the ice and tried to spot a 99, but once he didn't see it, he stepped further and glanced to the right, instantly zeroing in on the hunched over form on the bleachers.

He took no notice of the fact that many of his friends were openly staring at them. All that mattered was getting to Adam and fixing whatever was wrong.

Adam heard pounding footsteps approaching and immediately looked up, the relief clear on his face as his eyes landed on the other boy.

He stood up and the two met in the middle with a tight hug. Adam buried his face into his boyfriend's neck, inhaling his familiar scent. Maybe there was hope after all.

Jesse finally pulled back from the hug, cupping the other boy's cheeks.

"What happened, Adam? What's wrong?"

Adam took a breath before they both took a seat. Adam looked at his boyfriend and Jesse could see so much. He saw fear and sadness and confusion, but he also saw a steadfast love. A love directed at him.

"My dad found out about us."

Jesse's eyes grew wide. "What? How?"

"I have no idea how. Somebody must have told him. He came in here, screaming at the top of his lungs. He wanted me to deny it. To tell him that he was wrong and…I just couldn't. I couldn't do that, Jess. That would have been a slap in the face to you. And not just you but to your dad and to myself."

Jesse wanted to wait until Adam had gotten everything out before he showed any kind of reaction, but inside, he was so incredibly proud of Adam at that moment.

"I told him that we were dating and that we had been together since 6th grade. I told him that I love you and that was when he slapped me across the face."

Jesse's expression darkened but he tried his best to rein his emotions in until Adam was through.

"He said I made him sick and he called me a fag. I was a bit caught off guard and hurt, but I honestly expected that so I wouldn't have been that upset, but then he called you a piece of trash and…that word…."

Jesse nodded. He knew exactly what word he meant.

"And I just lost it. The fact that he would have the nerve to call you that…" he brought himself back to the present. "I tried to jump at him, but Charlie and Guy held me back. I basically called him a heartless asshole and told him you were a better person than he would ever be. He said I was dead to him and that he never wanted me to step foot in his house again."

He let out a huge breath. Finally, it was all out.

"Adam…" Jesse brought his hand to his love's face. "Come here."

He pulled Adam to his chest as his mind frantically processed all this new information. He couldn't believe Philip Banks actually had it in him to disown his own son. And because he  _loved_ someone?

He knew he could deal with his anger and even his confusion later. Right now, the most important thing was taking care of Adam.

"Listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. I promise you that. No matter what happens, it's going to be alright. We're gonna figure this out, okay?" He felt the other boy nod against his chest, along with a small wet patch forming on his shirt.

"I love you, and I'm so proud of you for standing up to him like that. I just wish I hadn't caused all this."

Adam pulled back, looking at his boyfriend with a look that was both puzzled and angry.

"You didn't cause anything. Don't you dare blame yourself for any of this. He's an asshole. He's always been this way, so something like this would have happened eventually. I wasn't going to stand there and let him insult you. I know you would have done the same for me if the positions were reversed."

Jesse had to agree that he had a point there.

"Okay, so what we're gonna do now is you're gonna get your stuff and come back home with me. I think maybe a nap would do you some good? Then when my dad gets home, we can all sit down and talk. How does that sound?"

Though he was a bit nervous about the proposed "talk" with James, Adam knew that he would be in a place where he felt safe, a place that felt like home. He nodded, a small smile coming to his face.

Their friends, now along with Coach Orion, watched as Jesse took hold of Adam's face and brought him in for a kiss. The non-Minnesota Ducks looked on, dumbfounded, while the Minnesota natives all shared pleased/relieved smiles.

Jesse pulled back. "You ready to go home?"

Adam offered a warm, genuine smile and a nod. "Yeah."

As the two boys left, Jesse looked over, locking eyes with Charlie. He gave his best friend a wink, getting a smile and nod in return.

Russ eventually broke the silence.

"So…when the hell did that happen?"

As one, the Minnesota Ducks answered.

"Sixth grade."

A million voices started speaking at once as the rest of practice was spent recounting the history of Adam Banks and Jesse Hall.

* * *

Jesse and Adam made it back to the dorms, where Adam grabbed a quick shower, forcing his brain to not think about anything at all for the moment. Once he was dressed, he threw some things into his bookbag and the two headed towards the familiar apartment complex, neither of them speaking a word.

When they arrived, Adam felt as if part of the weight he had been carrying on his shoulders had been lifted.

"Why don't you go lay down in my bed for a while? I'll be in in a minute."

Too tired to think of an argument, Adam simply nodded, placed a kiss on the other boy's lips, and headed for the bedroom.

As soon as the door was closed, Jesse made his way to the phone, aware both his brother and Tammy were watching him, matching worried expressions on their faces.

He dialed the number he knew by heart, hating to bother his dad at work but knowing his father would want to know what was happening.

After explaining to whoever had picked up who he was, he waited for his dad to pick up.

* * *

"James! Telephone call for you! It's one of your kids," he heard his supervisor yell.

He was surprised. The boys almost never called him while he was at work. He quickly went over and grabbed the phone with a thanks to his boss.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Dad. It's Jesse."

"Jesse, hey, is everything alright? You know I don't really like you boys calling me while I'm working unless it's an emergency."

Jesse nodded though his father couldn't see it. "I know, Dad, it's just that…Adam's father kicked him out of the house."

That was probably the last thing James Hall had expected to hear.

"Wait, what?!"

"His dad found out about us. I don't know how, but he did. He came down to Eden Hall and he and Adam had it out. He told Adam he was dead to him and that he wasn't allowed to step foot in their house again."

James was now trying extremely hard to suppress the growl that was dying to escape his throat.

"Did he say anything else?" he asked tightly.

Jesse released a sigh. "He called Adam a fag, and me a piece of trash and a nigger."

Philip Banks was dead. He just didn't know it yet.

James gripped the phone so tightly he felt like he was going to break it.

"Where is Adam now?"

"I brought him back home with me. I told him he should get some rest. He's sleeping right now."

James nodded, relieved. "Okay, good. I'll be home soon and we'll sit down and talk about the next course of action, okay?"

Jesse sighed in relief. "Thanks, Dad."

"No need to thank me, Jesse. And you did the right thing. I gotta go, but I'll be home soon."

They said their goodbyes and James returned to his last task.

"So what was that about?" Jack, the one who had helped James with his National Junior Hockey Summit scheme asked.

By the time he was done explaining, Jack was nearly as livid as James.

"That guy just don't know what he's done, does he?"

James shook his head. "Nope. But he's gonna regret it."

* * *

When his father eventually made it home, Jesse heard the door close. He looked down and smiled as he saw Adam, fast asleep in his arms. As carefully as he could, he extracted himself from the embrace and eased himself off the bed, placing a kiss on his boyfriend's temple as he exited the room.

James was just getting himself a drink when he saw his oldest son heading his way.

He hated the fact that his son had to deal with so much already. He hadn't even spent two decades on this earth yet. It just wasn't fair.

"Hey," he greeted as he pulled Jesse into a warm hug. "How's he doing?"

"He's a little better, I think. Being here has really made him relax more. He's sleeping right now."

James nodded. "Probably what's best for him. He needs to rest and de-stress."

The two sat down at the table as Jesse recounted the entire story in detail for his father, Terry and Tammy listening too, all with looks of shock and/or horror on their faces.

Once he was done, he waited for his dad to respond.

"I can't believe that man has the nerve to call himself a father. I would never-" he cut himself off before beginning again. "I'm so sorry you boys had to go through that. There's no excuse for any of it."

Everyone nodded before James began discussing the solution he had come up with.

"So, I was thinking…"

* * *

Adam awoke to the feeling of soft lips leaving a trail of kisses from his forehead down to his lips.

He smiled, his eyes opening slowly to meet the bright chocolate ones he'd forever recognize.

"Hey, sleepyhead."

"Hey." He stretched before sitting up.

"How are you feeling?"

The last few hours came rushing back to Adam, but being here like this, it felt like nothing was quite as bad as it could be.

"Better. I feel good."

Jesse's grin only widened.

"My dad's home. You feel up to talking to him? I already filled him in on what happened."

Adam wasn't looking forward to it, but he nodded. The two boys made their way to the living room where James, Terry, and Tammy were all waiting for them.

As he was about to pass him to sit on the couch, James grabbed hold of Adam's wrist.

"Come here, son."

He pulled the boy into a long, warm hug. "It's gonna be alright, son. And by the way, I am so proud of you."

Adam felt his eyes begin to sting. That was more than he could have ever dreamed to receive from his own father.

Once the two pulled apart, everyone took their seats once again.

"So, I've given this a lot of thought, and I've talked it over with both Jesse and Terry. If you want, you can stay here. I'll let you move in to Jesse and Terry's room. I figure, or at least I would hope, that you boys won't do anything crazy since you'll be sharing the room with Terry. But if I find out about any funny business, I'll have to move you to the couch. But regardless, you can live here. With us."

Adam's eyes were wide. There was no way this was happening. This was everything he wanted offered up on a silver platter.

"Really? That's okay? R-Really?"

James offered him a warm smile as the boy struggled to find his words.

"Yes, it's perfectly fine. And with you here, I wouldn't have to worry about you ending up with strangers none of us know. Here, I'd know you were safe."

Adam turned to Terry. "Are you really okay with this?" He didn't want his friend to feel like he was encroaching on his space.

"Yeah, no problem, man. It's all good, I promise."

Adam smiled before a look of hesitation came over his face. As if reading his thoughts, James cut in.

"Don't worry about your dad. I'll go over to that house with you and get what's left of your stuff. And if for whatever reason he tries to fight this, then I'll petition for guardianship. Either way, I'll make damn sure you never have to go back there again."

The relief was overwhelming. Adam got up and hugged James as tightly as he could. Words couldn't do justice to what he was feeling at that moment.

"This is your home now, son. Always. This is your home."


	22. Free

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so sorry. I was supposed to update this a couple weeks ago and then time just got away from me. I've even had the most recent chapter up on my computer for the past month or two as a reminder, but I've just been so busy. But here I am. Still alive. This chapter was a bit hard to write, so I hope it's okay. Thank you so much for reading and sticking with me.

After such an exhausting day, rather than going back to the dorms, Adam stayed with the Halls for dinner and just crashed there for the night.  Thankfully, it was Friday, so he didn’t have to get up early to make it back to school.

He could spend the whole night here.  In his new home.

He still couldn’t believe it.  He had a real home.

Everyone slept in the next morning, Terry rolling out of bed around 10:00.  It wasn’t much later that Jesse began to shift, slowly coming into wakefulness.

He heard an unintelligible noise before an arm collapsed across his chest.  He opened his eyes to see Adam’s own still closed, but his brow furrowed in irritation.  He began to shift again when his boyfriend spoke again, his voice forming actual words this time.

“No.”

Jesse smiled.  Adam sounded so serious but looked like a little kid not wanting to get up to go to school.

“What was that?” he asked in pure amusement.

“You stay here.  Don’t wanna get up yet.”

Jesse couldn’t hold his laugh in this time.  In his refusal to acknowledge the morning, Adam’s eyes were still closed.

“We gotta get up eventually.  Come on.”  Jesse placed a quick peck on the other boy’s temple, the easiest place to reach, before rolling out of bed, laughing as he watched Adam plop over onto his stomach, pulling Jesse’s pillow closer and burying his head in it.

Jesse walked out into the living room to see Terry eating cereal and watching TV on the couch and their dad drinking coffee at the table.

Morning greetings were exchanged before Jesse made his way to the kitchen.  He was just pouring milk into his own cereal when the door to the boys’ room opened and Adam stumbled out, his hair all over the place.  Jesse thought he looked adorable.

As all three boys ate their cereal on the couch, James eventually felt it was a safe time to broach the task for the day.

“So…Adam…I was thinking we’d go over to your old house in a little bit and pick up the rest of your stuff.”

Adam’s eyes immediately grew wide in fear.  Jesse gripped his arm in support.

“Are…Are you sure?  I mean…” He didn’t quite know how to put his fears into words.  What if his dad tried to take him back?  Worse…what if he tried to hurt any one of them?

James could clearly understand the boy’s thoughts.

“It’ll be okay, Adam.  I’ll be there with you the whole time.  Your dad won’t be able to touch you.  We’ll go in there, you’ll get your stuff, and if he tries to pull anything, I’ll call Gordon as soon as we get back here.  No matter what happens, he can’t make you stay there.  You have my word.”

Adam let out a shaky breath, still nervous about the whole thing, but nodded.  He knew he had to get it over with sooner or later.

Once they’d finished their breakfast, everyone got dressed for the day.  Jesse was just putting on his shoes when his dad grabbed his arm.

“Listen, son.  I think it would probably be best if you stayed here while Adam and I went to his parents’ house.”

Jesse was having none of that.

“What?!  No!  I need to be there.”

“Jess, I know you.  The second you see his dad, you’ll do something you’ll regret later.  Something to get you in trouble.  And that is not what we need right now.  In order for this to work, we need cooler heads to prevail.”

Jesse let out an aggravated huff.

“If anything happens, I’ll protect Adam and get him the hell out of there.  I promise.”

Still a bit pissed that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to clock Philip Banks in the face like he deserved, Jesse went back to the living room and tried to work off his frustration by restlessly pacing around.

When Adam heard Jesse wouldn’t be coming, he too was apprehensive, but was assured by James that they would be fine.  He couldn’t help but laugh when the older man told him the reason Jesse wouldn’t be coming.

“Yup.  My little hothead.”  He placed both hands on either side of his boyfriend’s head and shook it back and forth teasingly.  Jesse was broken out of his dark mood and both boys laughed before quickly kissing goodbye.

As he watched the door close, Jesse could only hope that everything would turn out okay.

 

* * *

 

James pulled into the Banks’ driveway, putting his car in park before turning to look at the young man next to him, face a bit pale and breathing coming fast.

“Hey.  Are you ready for this?”

 Adam turned and looked at him uncertainly.

 “It’ll be fine.  You can do this.  You can.”

 Letting out one last breath, Adam opened the passenger door and stepped out of the car.

 The two of them walked up to the front door, Adam knocking gently.

 A few moments later, the door opened to reveal Mrs. Banks, her expression upon seeing them the epitome of a ‘deer in the headlights’ look.  After taking a moment or two, she collected herself and called for her husband.

 Philip Banks emerged, a deep scowl on his face as he saw who was at his door.

“You have got some nerve showing your face here.  And _you_ ,” he sneered, looking at James.  "I take it you’re that little brat’s father?  Some kid you raised-”

 Before he could continue, James cut him off, thankful he had had the forethought to tell Jesse not to come along.

 “Listen.”  His voice was stern and forceful.  “We’re only here so Adam can pick up the rest of his things.  You’ve made it clear that he is no longer welcome here, but he is more than welcome in my home, so that’s where he’s going to be staying.”

 Philip gasped.  “How _dare_ you?  There is no way I will allow _my_ son to live in that…that…”

 James used his size to shift his body forward, his chest pushing Philip Banks’ further into the house.

 “Adam.”  His voice was short, his eyes piercing the man in front of him.  “Go on and start packing up the rest of your stuff.  I’ll be there in a minute.”

 Without a word, Adam raced for his old room and began piling his things into a suitcase.

 Once he was gone, James began speaking again.

 “You listen here.  I know what you said to Adam yesterday.  What you called him and what you called my son.  You’re lucky I have enough restraint to not break your bones right here and now.  Adam is going to be moving in with us, where he will be a part of our family.  Where he will have a home.  Now, if I were you, I wouldn’t fight this.  You wouldn’t want what you said or the fact that you disowned your own son to get out now would you?  That probably wouldn’t look best for your business.  So you’re going to let Adam go and I won’t ask you for a dime to support him.”  He took a step even closer, now towering over the smaller man.  “What do you say?”

 Clearly pissed but knowing his limited options, Philip Banks huffed and looked away.

 “Fine.  Take him.  But I don’t ever want to see him again.”

 James nodded stiffly.  He turned to help Adam finish packing before turning back and grabbing the defeated man’s elbow so tightly Philip couldn’t hold back his wince or the accompanying hiss.

 “Oh, and one more thing.  If I hear you’ve said anything, or you come near any of my boys again, and I’m including Adam in that now, you _will_ regret it.”  He gave one more harsh squeeze and let go with a push, throwing the other man off balance as he went to go help Adam pack.


End file.
